U.S. median age up 1.6 years in decade

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The United States grew older, faster, last decade.

The share of residents 65 or older grew by more than a third from 2010 to 2020 and at the fastest rate of any decade in 130 years, while the share of children declined, according to new figures from the most recent census.

The declining percentage of children under age 5 was particularly noteworthy in the figures from the 2020 head count released Thursday. Combined, the trends mean the median age in the U.S. jumped from 37.2 to 38.8 over the decade.

America’s two largest age groups propelled the changes: more baby boomers turning 65 or older and millennials who became adults or pushed further into their 20s and early 30s. Also, fewer children were born between 2010 and 2020, according to numbers from the once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident. The decline stems from women delaying having babies until later in life, in many cases to focus on education and careers, according to experts, who noted that birth rates never recovered following the recession of 2007-2009.

“In the short run, the crisis of work-family balance, the lack of affordable child care, stresses associated with health care, housing, and employment stability, all put a damper on birth rates by increasing uncertainty and making it harder to decide to have and raise children,” said Philip Cohen, a sociologist at the University of Maryland.

There are important social and economic consequences to an aging population, including the ability of working-age adults to support older people through Social Security and Medicare contributions. The Census Bureau calculates a dependency ratio, defined as the number of children plus the number of seniors per 100 working-age people. While the dependency ratio decreased for children from 2010 to 2020, it increased for seniors by 6.8 people.

At the top end of the age spectrum, the number of people over 100 increased by half, from more than 53,000 people to more than 80,000. The share of men living into old age also jumped.

The Census Bureau released two earlier data sets from the 2020 census in 2021: state population figures used to decide how many congressional seats each state gets and redistricting numbers used to draw political districts. Thursday’s data release was delayed by almost two years because of pandemic-related difficulties gathering the information and efforts by the Census Bureau to implement a new, controversial privacy protection method that uses algorithms to add intentional errors to obscure the identity of any given respondent.

This was the first census since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015. The tally showed that more than half of U.S. households contained coupled partners or spouses who lived together, and same-sex households made up 1.7% of those households. Since the census didn’t ask about sexual orientation, it didn’t capture LGBTQ+ people who are single or don’t live with a partner or spouse.

The median age varied widely by race and ethnicity. Non-Hispanic whites were the oldest cohort, with a median age of 44.5. Hispanics were the youngest, with a median age of 30; and a quarter of all children in the U.S. were Hispanic. Black Americans who weren’t Hispanic had a median age of 35.5. The number was 37.2 for Asians.

  photo  FILE – Ann Sorrell, 78, left, and Marge Eide, 77, of Ann Arbor, a couple for 43 years, embrace after exchanging vows in Ann Arbor, Mich., following a ruling by the US Supreme Court that struck down bans on same sex marriage nation wide on June 26, 2015. The 2020 census was the first census since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
 
 
  photo  FILE – The sun sets beyond downtown Kansas City, Mo., on June 27, 2020. America’s aging according to the 2020 census was propelled by the two largest age cohorts in the U.S. — greying baby boomers and millennials becoming adults. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
 
 
  photo  FILE – Residents drive golf carts through the Lake Sumter Landing Market Square on Aug. 12, 2021, in The Villages, Fla. Sumter County, Florida, home of the booming retirement community, The Villages, had the highest median age at 68.5, while Utah County, home to Provo, Utah, had the lowest at 25.9. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
 
 
  photo  FILE – Albert Maghbouleh, far left, and Miles Santamour, 89, with Amigos de Jaibalito Foundation (ADJ) share lunch outdoors guarding social distancing, overlooking the skyline of Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2021. America got older last decade. The share of seniors age 65 or older in the U.S. grew by more than a third, while the share of children declined, particularly among those under age 5, according to new figures from the 2020 census released Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
 
 
  photo  FILE – Rows of homes, in suburban Salt Lake City, on April 13, 2019. America got older last decade. The share of seniors age 65 or older in the U.S. grew by more than a third, while the share of children declined, particularly among those under age 5, according to new figures from the 2020 census released Thursday, May 25, 2023. Utah, home to the largest Mormon population in the U.S., was the youngest state in the U.S. with a median age of 31.3, a function of having one of the nation’s highest birthrates. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
 
 
  photo  FILE – Lizzie Chimiugak looks on at her home on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Toksook Bay, Alaska. Chimiugak, who turned 90 years old on Monday, is scheduled to be the first person counted in the 2020 U.S. Census on Tuesday. The share of seniors age 65 or older in the U.S. grew by more than a third, while the share of children declined, particularly among those under age 5, according to new figures from the 2020 census released Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
 
 
  photo  FILE – A family makes photographs beneath the cherry blossoms at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center in Philadelphia on April 8, 2022. America’s aging was propelled by the two largest age cohorts in the U.S. — greying baby boomers and millennials becoming adults. Fewer children also were born between 2010 and 2020, according to numbers from the once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident. The decline stems from younger women delaying having babies until later in life in order to focus on their education and start their careers, but also birth rates never recovered following the recession in the late 2000s, according to experts. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
 
 

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