Older adults outnumber children in almost half of US counties: Census data
- In 2024, nearly half of U.S. counties had more adults aged 65 and older than children, and 11 states showed a similar demographic shift.
- This shift follows continuous aging of baby boomers, falling birth rates this decade, and outmigration exceeding inmigration in many states.
- The U.S. median age reached a record 39.1 in 2024, with Maine having the oldest median age of 44.8, while children made up just 21.5 percent of the population.
- Karen Guzzo expressed that while overall birth rates do not raise concern, it is troubling that some individuals cannot achieve their desired number of children, and Lauren Bowers noted that despite recent declines in births, children still outnumber the elderly in the U.S. population.
- This population trend threatens Social Security's sustainability as Siobhan O'Keefe explained that fewer births plus an aging retired population challenge the system's functioning.
27 Articles
27 Articles


Older people who need help in everyday life have become more dependent on support from their family. Buying everyday services has also become more common. “We live in the belief that the public sector will take care of us when we get old. But if that doesn't happen, we need to talk about the risks,” says geriatrics researcher Isabelle von Saenger.
Mapped: Share of Children in Each U.S. State in 2024
See this visualization first on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization Mapped: Share of Children in Each U.S. State This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Utah tops all states in the share of residents under 18 (27%), a distinction linked to its relatively high fertility rate. Vermont’s low child shar…
Older adults outnumber children in almost half of US counties: Census data
(The Hill) — Older adults now outnumber children in almost half of the counties in the U.S., new data released Thursday from the Census Bureau shows. About 45 percent of the nation's more than 3,100 counties reported more residents 65 years or older than those under the age of 18 in 2024, according to a press release. This marks a significant increase from four years prior, when just 31.3 percent of the counties had more older adults than childr…
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