The Aging Of America Continues

The national median age rose to 38.2 years last year, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That suggests half of the U.S. population is more than 38-years-old and half is younger. By gender, the median for woman is 39.5 while for men its 36.9 years.

Bloomberg reports the aging of America is widespread with 49 of 50 states showing an uptick in older residents. North Dakota was the only state to see a decline in its median age, from 37 years in 2010 to 35.2 in 2018.

“This aging (phenomenon) is driven in large part by baby boomers crossing over the 65-year-old mark,” said Luke Rogers, the Chief of the Population Estimates Branch at the Census Bureau.

A decline in birth rates is another reason. The number of U.S. births fell to lowest level in 32 years in 2018.

There were less than 3.9 million babies under age 1 as of July 1, 2018. This represents the smallest age cohort until age 64. The largest age cohort is 27-year-olds, making up 4.8 million of the population.

The number of Americans age 80 and older reached a record 12.7 million last year -- up from 11.2 million from the 2010 Census. The 1.4 million growth is roughly equivalent to the population of Phoenix.

Maine is the oldest state at 44.9 years -- almost 10 years older than North Dakota. The median age crossed the 40-year-old threshold in New Jersey, Rhode Island and Delaware for the first time last year. Utah is the youngest state with a 31 year-old median age.

Narrowing in on smaller pockets of population, Florida’s Sumter County has the highest median age of 67.8. The county is home to a popular retirement community known as The Villages.

Despite an increase in the overall population of 18.4 million since the 2010 Census, some age cohorts shrunk, particularly 40-year-olds as a group.