Texas' population is aging: U.S. Census data
BY ALLEN JONES, TEXPERS
The population of Texas is aging, but it isn’t quite as gray as the nation as a whole.
The median age – the point when half the population is older
and half younger – of Texans grew to 34.8 years in 2018, according to new U.S.
Census Bureau population estimates released June 20. And although the
median age of Texas’ population is 3.4 years lower than the median age of the national
population, both populaces grew older since 2010.
Federal statisticians looked for the median age of the
nation, states, and counties. Data analysts look for the median age of a
population as it provides a slightly better picture of what an age distribution
resembles.
Monitored over eight years, Texans are getting older. The
median age of Texans increased 1.2 years from 33.6 since 2010.
Texas’ aging population is in line with regional and
national trends showing increases in the median age of various demographics.
The median age of the nation increased to 38.2 years in 2018, up from 37.2
years in 2010. In the southern U.S., the geographical region that includes
Texas, the median age increased to 38.1 years in 2018 compared to 37 years in
2010.
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Among its southern peer states, Washington D.C. has the
youngest population with a median age of 34 years. The southern state with the
highest median age is West Virginia at 42.7 years. Delaware had the most
significant increase in median age among the southern states. The median age in
that state grew 1.9 years from 38.8 years in 2010 to 40.7 years in 2018.
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Among all states, North Dakota is the only state with a population that got younger. The median age decreased 1.8 years to 35.2 years in 2018 from 37 years in 2010. Main had the largest increase in median age, going from 42.7 years in 2010 to 44.9 years in 2018, according to the bureau. And Utah had the state population with the lowest median age in 2018 at 31 years.
“The nation is aging – more than four out of every five
counties were older in 2018 than in 2010,” said Luke Rogers, the chief of the
Population Estimates Branch at the Census Bureau, in a news release. “This
aging is driven in larger part by baby boomers crossing over the 65-year-old
mark. Now, half of the U.S. population is over the age of 38.2.”
Also, according to the new data, 16 percent of the nation’s
population is made up of people age 65 and older, and it grew by 3.2 percent in
the last year. The age group increased to 30.2 percent since 2010. Compare that
to those under the age of 18, which decreased by 1.1 percent during the same
period.
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Along with a general aging trend, Rogers said the bureau’s
researchers also noted a variation among race and ethnicity groups both in
growth patterns and aging. He also stated that alone-or-in-combination groups
overlap and individuals who identify as being two or more races are included in
more than one of these race groups.
Amongst the different race groups in the U.S.:
- The white alone-or-in-combination population increased by 1.0 years
- The black or African American alone-or-in-combination population grew by 1.4 years
- The American Indian and Alaska Native alone-or-in-combination population increased by 2.2 years
- The Asian alone-or-in-combination population increased by 1.7 years
- The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone-or-in-combination population grew by 2.6 years
- The Hispanic (any race) population increased in median age by 2.2 years
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