Older Adults Outnumber Children in 11 States
15 days ago
- #population trends
- #demographics
- #aging population
- U.S. population aged 65+ increased by 3.1% to 61.2 million in 2024, while under-18 population declined by 0.2% to 73.1 million.
- The share of the population aged 65+ rose from 12.4% in 2004 to 18.0% in 2024, while children's share fell from 25.0% to 21.5%.
- The gap between older adults and children narrowed from 20 million in 2020 to 12 million in 2024.
- From 2020 to 2024, the older population grew by 13.0%, working-age adults by 1.4%, and children declined by 1.7%.
- In 2024, 11 states had more older adults than children, up from 3 in 2020.
- Metro areas with more older adults than children doubled from 58 in 2020 to 112 in 2024.
- Nearly 45% of U.S. counties (1,411) had more older adults than children in 2024, up from 31.3% in 2020.
- Hispanic or Latino population grew by 2.9% in 2024, while the White population declined by 0.1%.
- Asian population saw the highest growth rate at 4.2% in 2024.
- The release includes detailed estimates by race, age, sex, and Hispanic origin for various geographic levels.