Older Adults Outnumber Children in 11 States and Nearly Half of U.S. Counties
JUNE 26, 2025 — The U.S. population age 65 and older rose by 3.1% (to 61.2 million) while the population under age 18 decreased by 0.2% (to 73.1 million) from 2023 to 2024, according to the Vintage 2024 Population Estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The data show the population continued to age, with the share of the population age 65 and older steadily increasing from 12.4% in 2004 to 18.0% in 2024, and the share of children declining from 25.0% to 21.5%.
Ongoing growth among the older population, coupled with persistent annual declines in the population under age 18 has reduced the size difference between these two age groups from just over 20 million in 2020 to just below 12 million in 2024. From 2020 to 2024, the older population grew by 13.0%, significantly outpacing the 1.4% growth of working-age adults (ages 18 to 64), while the number of children declined by 1.7%.
Continue reading to explore more data highlights on the U.S. population by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin.
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States With High Median Ages May Not be as Uniformly Old as You Think
Many assume Florida is one of the nation’s oldest states and Utah to be among the youngest.
But while a retirement magnet, not every corner of the Sunshine (or any other) state is “old” or, for that matter, “young.” Some older states like Florida have counties with much younger populations, while some counties within the youngest states like Utah are graying fast. In both instances, these intra-state discrepancies are driven by migration patterns combined with the numbers of births and deaths.
An Aging Nation: U.S. Median Age Surpassed 39 in 2024
The U.S. median age — the age at which half the population is aged above and the other half below — has increased by 0.6 years from April 2020 to July 2024 when it reached 39.1, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released today.
Given that nearly 294 million people (86% of the U.S. population) lived in one of the nation’s 387 metro areas in 2024, many metro areas saw an increase in their median ages, too.
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