Nations Population Aging as Senior Citizen Ranks
Boom with Boomers; Males Increasing
Number of seniors (65 and older), pushed by baby
boomers, jumped - 15.1% to 40.3 million, or 13.% of total population;
Northeast the oldest
May 27, 2011 - As expected, the latest U.S. Census
Bureau brief on data from the 2010 Census shows senior citizens are
increasing faster than younger people, making the nations median age
older. A little bit surprising is the news released yesterday that also
shows a shift in the sex composition with the male population growing
faster than the female population over the last decade.
According to
Age and Sex Composition: 2010 [PDF], the median age of Americans is
now 37.2, with seven states recording a median age of 40 or older.
The brief also shows the male population grew 9.9
percent between 2000 and 2010, while the female population grew 9.5
percent. Of the total 2010 Census population, 157.0 million people were
female (50.8 percent) and 151.8 million were male (49.2 percent).
Selected Age Categories
Between 2000 and 2010, the population 45 to 64
years old grew 31.5 percent to 81.5 million. This age group now makes up
26.4 percent of the total U.S. population.
The large growth among 45- to
64-year-olds is primarily because of the aging of the baby boomer
population. The 65-and-older population also grew faster than most
younger population groups at a rate of 15.1 percent to 40.3 million
people, or 13.0 percent of the total population.
Administration on Aging promoting local events,
offers online games
May 2, 2011 - Older Americans Month, which began on
May 1, is an occasion to show appreciation and support for our seniors
as they continue to enrich and strengthen our communities, according to
the Administration on Aging, which sponsors the annual event.
Read
more...
For those under 18 and between the ages of 18 and
44, growth rates were much slower. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of
people under 18 grew 2.6 percent to 74.2 million people, comprising 24.0
percent of the total population. The 18 to 44 age group grew at an even
slower rate of 0.6 percent to 112.8 million, comprising 36.5 percent of
the population.
Median Age
Editor's note: Fifty percent of the population
are younger than the median age and 50 percent are older than the median
age.
In 2010, the median age increased to 37.2 from 35.3
in 2000, with the proportion of older Americans increasing. The 1.9-year
increase between 2000 and 2010 was a more modest increase than the
2.4-year increase in median age that occurred between 1990 and 2000.
The aging of the baby boom population, along with
stabilizing birth rates and longer life expectancy, have contributed to
the increase in median age.
Sex Ratios
In 2010, there were 96.7 males for every 100
females in the United States, representing an increase from 2000 when
the male-to-female ratio was 96.3 males for every 100 females.
The increase in the population of older males was
notable over the last decade, with males between the ages of 60 and 74
increasing by 35.2 percent, while females in the same age group
increased by just 29.2 percent.
This increase in the male population relative to
the female population for those 60 and over has led to a notable
increase in the sex ratio among this age group - potentially because of
the narrowing gap in mortality between older men and women.
Geographic Distribution
In the 2010 Census, seven states had a median age
of 40 or older: Maine (42.7), Vermont (41.5), West Virginia (41.3), New
Hampshire (41.1), Florida (40.7), Pennsylvania (40.1) and Connecticut
(40.0). In both 1990 and 2000, West Virginia and Florida had the highest
median age of all states. Maine overtook West Virginia and Florida as
the state with the highest median age in 2010, while Utah remained the
state with the lowest median age.
States with the lowest median age (excluding the
District of Columbia) remained the same as they were in 2000: Utah
(29.2), Texas (33.6), Alaska (33.8) and Idaho (34.6). Utah had the
highest percentage of population under age 18 (31.5 percent) and
remained the only state with a median age under 30.
All states experienced an increase in median age
when compared with 2000 - a further indication of population aging.
However, the District of Columbia experienced a decrease in median age,
declining from 34.6 to 33.8. In the District of Columbia, almost half
(48.6 percent) of the 2010 Census population was between the ages of 18
and 44.
Regionally, the Northeast recorded the oldest
median age at 39.2, followed by the Midwest at 37.7, the South at 37.0
and the West at 35.6. In the West, 24.9 percent of people were under the
age of 18 and 37.8 percent of people were between the ages of 18 and 44.
The Northeast recorded the largest percentages of
people in the age groups 45 to 64, and 65 and over (27.7 percent and
14.1 percent, respectively).
All four regions of the United States had a sex
ratio of less than 100 in 2010, indicating more females than males
nationwide. The Northeast had the lowest sex ratio (94.5 males per 100
females), followed by the South (96.1), the Midwest (96.8) and the West
(99.3).
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
May 27, 2011 - As expected, the latest U.S. Census
Bureau brief on data from the 2010 Census shows senior citizens are
increasing faster than younger people, making the nations median age
older. A little bit surprising is the news released yesterday that also
shows a shift in the sex composition with the male population growing
faster than the female population over the last decade.
