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Census: Older Adults Outnumber Children in Nearly Half of U.S. Counties

Census: Older Adults Outnumber Children in Nearly Half of U.S. Counties

The U.S. population age 65 and older rose by 3.1 percent (to 61.2 million) while the population under age 18 decreased by 0.2 percent (to 73.1 million) from 2023 to 2024, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

By the numbers: The share of the population age 65 and older steadily increased from 12.4 percent in 2004 to 18 percent in 2024.

Go deeper: As recently as 2020, there were three states where older adults outnumbered children: Maine, Vermont, and Florida. By 2024, this number had increased to 11, with Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia joining their ranks.

  • Similarly, from 2020 to 2024, the number of U.S. metro areas with more older adults than children increased from 58 to 112. This represents nearly 30 percent of the nation’s 387 metro areas.

Additionally, in 2024, three metro areas with at least one million people (Cleveland, OH; Providence-Warwick, RI-MA; and Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT) had more older people than younger people for the first time.

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Darryl Hicks

Darryl Hicks is Vice President of Communications for the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association. In this capacity, Hicks writes for NRMLA's publications, manages the association's web sites and social media accounts, assists committees and the Board of Directors, and manages the Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional designation. Prior to joining NRMLA in 1999, Hicks spent three years in the Washington, D.C. bureau for National Mortgage News.