New Population Estimates Highlight Increase in National Median Age

The nation’s median age increased by 0.2 years to 38.9 years between 2021 and 2022, according to Vintage 2022 Population Estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Median age is the age at which half of the population is older and half of the population is younger.

“As the nation’s median age creeps closer to 40, you can really see how the aging of baby boomers, and now their children — sometimes called echo boomers — is impacting the median age. The eldest of the echo boomers have started to reach or exceed the nation’s median age of 38.9,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. "While natural change nationally has been positive, as there have been more births than deaths, birth rates have gradually declined over the past two decades. Without a rapidly growing young population, the U.S. median age will likely continue its slow but steady rise.”

A third (17) of the states in the country had a median age above 40.0 in 2022, led by Maine with the highest at 44.8, and New Hampshire at 43.3. Utah (31.9), the District of Columbia (34.8), and Texas (35.5) had the lowest median ages in the nation. Hawaii had the largest increase in median age among states, up 0.4 years to 40.7.

No states experienced a decrease in median age. Four states — Alabama (39.4), Maine (44.8), Tennessee (39.1), West Virginia (42.8), and the District of Columbia (34.8) — had no change in their median age from 2021 to 2022.

The median age of the nation’s 3,144 counties or equivalents ranged from 20.9 to 68.1 in 2022. About 75% (2,357) had a median age at or above that of the nation, down from 76% and 2,374 counties in 2021. Roughly a quarter (787) had a median age below the national median age in 2022, 17 more than in 2021 when 770 counties had median ages under the then 38.7 national median age. Fifty-nine percent (1,846) of U.S. counties experienced an increase in median age between 2021 and 2022, up from 51% or 1,590 counties between 2020 and 2021.

In 2022, seven counties had median ages at or above 60: Highland County, Virginia (60.0); Charlotte County, Florida (60.2); Jefferson County, Washington (60.4); Harding County, New Mexico (60.5); Jeff Davis County, Texas (61.7); Catron County, New Mexico (62.1); and Sumter County, Florida (68.1). Of the counties with resident populations at or above 20,000, Jasper County, South Carolina, and Blaine County, Idaho, had the largest increases in median age between 2021 and 2022, both seeing their median age increase by 1 year to 46.3 and 45.9, respectively. Also notable: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, where the median age increased by 0.7 to 55.6 between 2021 and 2022.

 

Among counties with populations of 100,000 or more, several of the oldest counties were in Florida. Sumter County (68.1), home to a large retirement community, has perennially been the nation’s oldest county. Neighboring Citrus County, although younger, still had a median age (57) well above that of the nation. Similarly, Sarasota County (57.5) and Charlotte County (60.2), both coastal Florida counties, had median ages near or over 60.

Seven counties among those with resident populations of at least 100,000 had a median age below 30.0 — Utah (25.7) and Cache (25.8) counties in Utah; Onslow County, North Carolina (27.6); Tippecanoe County, Indiana (28.8); Clarke County, Georgia (29.1); and Brazos (26.7) and Webb (29.8) counties in Texas. Many of these counties are home to large universities, which explains their lower median ages.

Today’s release also featured updated estimates by race and Hispanic origin. The following references are for race-alone-or-in-combination groups or Hispanic populations of any race unless otherwise specified.

White

• The White population in the United States was 260,570,291 in 2022, representing an increase of 0.1% or 388,779 people from 2021.
• In 2022, California had the largest White population (29,079,926), followed by Texas (23,853,626) and Florida (17,553,268). Florida also had the largest-gaining (321,037) and second fastest-growing (1.9%) White population behind South Carolina, which grew by 2.0% (74,990).
• Among counties, Los Angeles County, California, had the largest (7,085,816) White population, down 79,000 people from 2021. Maricopa County, Arizona, had the largest increase (35,294 or 0.9%) in the White population between 2021 and 2022.
• Whitman County, Washington, had the fastest-growing White population, which increased by 10% (3,781 residents) in 2022.

Black or African American

• Comprising 15% of the nation’s total population in 2022, the national Black population totaled 50,087,750, up 0.9% from July 2021.
• Texas had the largest Black population in 2022, with a total of 4,334,313, an increase of 120,945 (2.9%) from July 2021. Maine had the fastest-growing Black population, expanding by 7.0% (2,412 people) between 2021 and 2022.
• Cook County, Illinois (1,260,073), and Harris County, Texas (1,032,566), had the largest Black populations in the nation and were the only counties with a Black population over 1 million.
• The Black population increased in 67% of counties (2,110) in 2022; Harris County, Texas, had the largest numeric gain, with its Black population up by almost 23,000.
• Among counties with Black populations above 10,000, Kaufman County, Texas, had the fastest-growing Black population, growing by 21% or 6,207 people from 2021 to 2022 —adding to the growth that occurred from 2020 to 2021, when it grew by 20% or 4,912 residents.

Asian

• The Asian population in the United States was 24,683,008 in 2022, up 577,420 or 2.4% from 2021.
• In 2022, California had the largest Asian population (7,242,739), followed by New York (2,085,285) and Texas (1,958,128). California also had the largest-gaining Asian population with an increase of 108,881, while Montana — with an increase of 6.8% (1,276) — had the fastest-growing Asian population.
• California was home to four of the top five counties with the largest Asian populations in 2022. Los Angeles County topped the list with an Asian population of 1,711,002, followed by Santa Clara County (830,790) and Orange County (816,274). Alameda County, California, had the fifth largest Asian population at just over 616,000, and Queens County, New York, ranked fourth with an Asian population of 671,358.
• King County, Washington, had the largest-gaining Asian population, adding 21,498 people.
• Williamson County, Texas, had the fastest growth among counties with an Asian population above 10,000, expanding by 15.9% or 10,742 people.

American Indian and Alaska Native

• The American Indian and Alaska Native population reached 7,274,656 between July 2021 and July 2022, an increase of 93,443 or 1.3%. California had the largest American Indian and Alaska Native population at 1,114,580, followed by Oklahoma (572,435) and Texas (528,255).
• Texas also had the largest-gaining American Indian and Alaska Native population, having increased by 15,245 from 2021 to 2022, while the District of Columbia had the nation’s fastest-growing American Indian and Alaska Native population, increasing by 5.0% or 507 residents.
• Among counties, Los Angeles County had the largest American Indian and Alaska Native population (235,603), and Maricopa County, Arizona, had the largest-gaining American Indian and Alaska Native population, adding 3,108 people.

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander

• The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population rose to 1,759,756, an increase of 1.8% or 31,949 people in 2022.
• Hawaii had the largest Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population (393,837), followed by California (373,173) and Washington (109,115).
• South Dakota had the fastest-growing Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population, which increased by 11.4% from 2021 to 2022, while Texas had the largest- gaining, up by 3,871.
• Honolulu County, Hawaii, had the largest Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population (254,769), followed by Hawaii County, Hawaii (72,467), and Los Angeles County, California (67,010).
• Clark County, Nevada, had the largest numeric population growth (1,499) among this population group between 2021 and 2022.
• Among counties with Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations above 10,000, Utah County, Utah, with an increase of 5.6% or 723 people, was the fastest growing in 2022.

Hispanic Origin (Any Race)

• The Hispanic population gained over a million residents, reaching 63,664,346 in 2022, an increase of 1.7%.
• Among states, California (15,732,180), Texas (12,068,549), and Florida (6,025,030) had the largest Hispanic population, while New York (3,867,076) was the only state to experience a drop (-0.7%, -27,522) in the Hispanic population.
• South Dakota had the fastest-growing Hispanic population, increasing by 6.8% or 2,835 residents.
• In 2022, Los Angeles County had the largest Hispanic population (4,766,616), followed by Harris County, Texas (2,131,839), and Miami-Dade County, Florida (1,848,083). Harris County, Texas, had the largest gaining Hispanic population, up by 34,782 or 1.7% in 2022.
• Kaufman County, Texas, where the Hispanic population increased by 14.1% or 5,741 people, had the fastest growth among counties with a Hispanic population above 10,000.

Puerto Rico Municipios

• The median age in Puerto Rico increased from 44.3 to 44.8 between 2021 and 2022.
• The median age increased in all municipios except Guayama (41.5), where the median age did not change.
• The median age in both Hormigueros and Rincón was 50.3, the highest in Puerto Rico in 2022.
• Barranquitas was Puerto Rico’s youngest municipio, with a median age of 40.8.
• Maricao had the largest annual increase (1.1 years) in median age, increasing from 46.4 to 47.5 between 2021 and 2022.
• In 2022, 52.7% of Puerto Rico’s population was female.
• Vieques was the only municipio with a greater share (50.7%) of males than females.