Half of Americans Are Now Over the Age of 38

The graying 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.

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.

By region, the average age inched up to 40 in the Northeast. Among Northeastern states, only Massachusetts and New York are younger. 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.

Age differs not only by region but also by race. The median age for Native Hawaiian and pacific islanders increased the most by 2.6 years in the eight-year period. The white population grew older by 1 year, the lowest of all races tracked by the Census.

The U.S. resident population is expected to cross the 330 million mark around December of this year.

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