America’s population is aging significantly, shifting the delicate balance between old and young. According to a June 26 report from the U.S. Census Bureau, the share of the nation’s population that is age 65 and older grew from 12.4 percent to 18 percent from 2004 to 2024. At the same time, the amount of people under age 18 decreased from 23.2 percent to 21.5 percent. “Children still outnumber older adults in the United States, despite a decline in births this decade,” Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch, said in a statement about the findings. However, the gap is narrowing as baby boomers continue to age into their retirement years. In fact, the number of states and counties where older adults outnumber children is on the rise, especially in sparsely populated areas.”
There are now 11 states in which residents age 65 and older outnumber the under-18 group: Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia. In 2020, only Florida, Maine and Vermont were in that category. The age shift is also happening at the local level. From 2020 to 2024, the number of U.S. metro areas with more people age 65-plus than children increased from 58 to 112, the Census Bureau found. That increase means nearly 30 percent of the nation’s 387 metro areas have more older adults than youth. Overall, in 45 percent of the 3,144 counties the Census examined nationwide, residents age 65-plus outnumber those under 18.
