The Impact of HIV on Black People in the United States

Published: Sep 09, 2024

Black people in the U.S. have been disproportionately affected by HIV since the epidemic’s beginning, and that disparity has deepened over time.
Although they represent only 12% of the U.S. population, Black people account for a much larger share of HIV diagnoses (39%), people living with HIV (40%), and deaths among people with HIV (43%) than any other racial/ethnic group in the U.S.
Among Black Americans, Black women, youth, and gay and bisexual men have been disproportionately impacted by HIV.
Several challenges contribute to the epidemic among Black people, including experiences with stigma and discrimination, higher rates of poverty, lack of access to health care, higher rates of some sexually transmitted infections, and lower awareness of HIV status..
Recent data indicate some encouraging trends, including declining new HIV diagnoses among Black people overall, especially among women, and a leveling off of new diagnoses among Black gay and bisexual men (see Figure 1). However, given the epidemic’s continued and disproportionate impact on Black people, continued focus on this population is key to addressing HIV in the United States.

Today, there are more than 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S., 40% of whom (489,200) are Black.
The latest data indicate declines in both the number and rate of annual new diagnoses among Black people in recent years, including among both men and women (see Figure 1). However disparities persist in HIV prevention, treatment, and outcomes.
Although Black people represent only 12% of the U.S. population, they accounted for 39% of new HIV diagnoses in 2022 (see Figure 2).

The rate of new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 among Black adults/adolescents (41.6) was about 8 times that of White people (5.3) and twice that of Latinos (23.4) in 2022 (see Figure 3). The rate for Black men (66.3) was the highest of any race/ethnicity and gender, followed by Latino men (40.8), the second highest group. Black women (19.2) had the highest rate among women.

Black people accounted for more than 4 in 10 (43%) deaths among people with an HIV diagnosis (deaths may be due to any cause) in 2022. The number of deaths among Black individuals with an HIV diagnosis decreased 13% between 2010 and 2018 but then increased more recently, by 15% between 2018 and 2022.
HIV death rates (deaths for which HIV was indicated as the leading cause of death) are highest among Black people compared to people of other race/ethnicities. In 2022, Black people had the highest age-adjusted HIV death rate per 100,000 – 5.9, compared to 0.6 per 100,000 White persons.
In addition, in 2021 HIV was the 8th leading cause of death for Black men and for Black women ages 25-34.

Transmission patterns vary by race/ethnicity. While male-to-male sexual contact accounts for the largest share of HIV cases among both Black and White people, proportionately, fewer Black people contract HIV this way. Heterosexual sex accounts for a greater proportion of HIV cases among Black people than White people.
Among Black people, 63% of HIV diagnoses in 2022 were attributable to male-to-male sexual contact and 32% were attributable to heterosexual sex; among White people, 70% of new HIV diagnoses in 2022 were attributable to male-to-male sexual contact and 16% were attributable to heterosexual sex. The remainder of HIV diagnoses in each group were attributable to other causes, including injection drug use.
Most HIV positive Black women acquired HIV through heterosexual transmission and a smaller share of HIV infections are attributable to injection drug use among Black women compared to White women (15% v 32%).

Although HIV diagnoses among Black people have been reported throughout the country, the impact of the epidemic is not uniformly distributed.
Regionally, the South accounts for both the majority of Black people newly diagnosed with HIV (52% in 2022) and the majority living with HIV at the end of 2022 (46%).
HIV diagnoses among Black people are concentrated in a handful of states. The top 10 states, 7 of which are in the South, account for 64% of all HIV diagnoses among Black people (see Figure 4).

Black women account for the largest share of new HIV diagnoses among women (3,523 or 50% in 2022) as well as the largest share of all women living with HIV. The rate of new diagnoses among Black women (19.2) is 10 times the rate among White women (1.9) and 3 times the rate among Latinas (5.5).
Although new HIV diagnoses continue to occur disproportionately among Black women, data show a 39% decrease in new diagnoses for Black women between 2010 and 2022. More recently though, from 2018 to 2022, new HIV diagnoses among Black women were essentially flat, decreasing by just 1%.
In 2022, Black women represented about one quarter (24%) of new HIV diagnoses among all Black people – a higher share than Latinas and White women (who represented 12% and 18% of new diagnoses among their respective racial/ethnic groups).

In 2022, half (50%) of HIV diagnoses among all young people ages 13-24 were among Black people.
More than half (53%) of gay and bisexual teens and young adults with HIV were Black in 2022.
In 2023, 10% of Black high school students report having ever been tested for HIV compared to 5% of White students but that share is down from 20% of Black students in 2013.

Black gay and bisexual men accounted for almost half (49%) of Black people living with HIV and 30% of gay and bisexual men living with HIV.
Among Black people, male-to-male sexual contact accounted for more than half (63%) of HIV diagnoses in 2022 and a majority (82%) of diagnoses among Black men.
Young Black gay and bisexual men are particularly affected. Black gay and bisexual men are younger than their White counterparts, with those ages 13-24 accounting for 32% of new HIV diagnoses among Black gay and bisexual men in 2022, compared to 12% among White gay and bisexual men.

In 2022, over half (57%) of Black adults reported ever having been tested for HIV, a greater share than among Latino or White adults (44% and 32%, respectively).
One-in-five (20%) Black people with HIV tested positive late in their illness – that is, were diagnosed with AIDS at the time of testing positive for HIV; similar to the share among White (21%) and Latino (21%) people.
Looking across the care continuum, Black people face disparities related to linkage to care and viral suppression. At the end of 2022, 88% of Black people with HIV were diagnosed, 64% were linked to care, and 53% were virally suppressed. In comparison, 89% of White people with HIV were diagnosed, 70% were linked to care, and 63% were virally suppressed.