About West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach: A Racially and Ethnically Diverse City
Total Population
111,952 (American Community Survey, 2019)
Race
When you look at the racial breakdown of West Palm Beach, keep in mind that race is not something biological. It’s what social scientists call a “social construct.” What does that mean? Learn more in this video or read Vox’s article 11 ways race isn’t real:
Nonetheless, racism IS very real, and with it inequities based on long histories of racial discrimination and policies aimed at maintaining and justifying — versus eradicating — racial disparities.
In West Palm Beach, here’s how residents identify themselves racially and ethnically, according to 2019 U.S. Census data.
Race
- White: 57% (of total population of WPB)
- Black or African American: 36%
- Mixed (Black/White): 2%
- Asian: 1%
- Mixed (Asian/White): <1%
- “Some Other Race”: 3%
- Native American: <1%
Country of Birth (for Foreign-Born Residents)
- Cuba: 13% (of total population of WPB)
- Guatemala: 13%
- Haiti: 13%
- Jamaica: 11%
- Mexico: 5%
- Columbia: 3%
- India: 3%
- Honduras: 3%
- Canada: 2%
- United Kingdom: 2%
Ethnicity/Ancestry
Other: 43% (of total population of WPB) | Unclassified: 15% | American: 5%
African
- Sub-Saharan African: 2%
- African: 2%
European
- Irish: 7%
- Italian: 6%
- German: 6%
- English: 4%
- Polish: 2%
- French: 2%
- Russian: 2%
Latin America & Caribbean
- West Indian: 11%
- Haitian: 6%
- Cuban: 6%
- Guatemalan: 5%
- Jamaican: 4%
- Puerto Rican: 3%
- Mexican: 3%
- Colombian: 1%
Citizenship
- U.S. Born: 70% (of total population of WPB)
- Naturalized Citizens: 13%
- Non-Citizens: 14%
Language
Speak a Language Other than English:
- Spanish: 19% (7% of WPB Spanish-speakers speak limited English)
- Other Indo-European languages: 9%
- Other languages: 2%
- Asian & Pacific Island languages: <1%