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This report examines specific characteristics of Milwaukee's Black population--
demographics, income, employment, education, housing, and health, as well as
how the living conditions of Blacks in Milwaukee compare to those experienced
by the rest of the population.

Demographics: Growth and Distribution of the Black Population
The size of the Black population in the city has grown significantly since 1950.
In Milwaukee, as in other cities, this growth has occurred at the same time that
the non-Black population as well as the city's total population have declined.
In 1950, the 21,772 black residents of
Milwaukee represented only 3.4 percent
of the city's population.* By 1975,
the Black population had grown to
123,689, or 18.5 percent of the total
population. This represents a 468 per-
cent increase in the size of the popu-
lation between 1950 and 1975. Non-
Blacks, on the other hand, decreased by
114 percent during the same 25 year
period. The graph on the right illu-
stratess changes in the size of Milwau-
kee's population.

Milwaukee's Black population over the
past twenty-five years has been
"younger" than either the non-Black
or the city's population at large.
The under 25 age group has included
close to 60 percent of all Blacks
since 1960. The large proportion of
the population in the 20 to 29 age group
in 1950 undoubtedly reflects the in-
migration of young Blacks looking for
improved economic and social conditions
in Milwaukee at that time.

Although the Black population had gotten
somewhat older by 1975, and the propor-
tion of children under the age of 10
has decreased slightly since 1960, the age structure of the Black population re-
mains in marked contrast to that of non-Blacks, as illustrated by the population
pyramid for 1975 on the following page.

[Chart labeled "Milwaukee Population since 1950 - 1979," which shows the "Total Population" and "Non-Black Population" in Milwaukee overall decreased over that time period, whereas the "Black Population" steadily increased]

*Unless otherwise indicated, the figures used in this report are derived from
the official U.S. Census reports from 1950, 1960 and 1970. In addition, the
1975 Special Census conducted by the City of Milwaukee provides and updated
count of the population by age, sex, and race.