According to the latest census data, Cleveland is one of three metropolitan areas in the country with more than 1 million people to now have its population feature more older adults than children for the first time.
Cleveland is joined by the Providence-Warwick (Rhode Island-Massachusetts) and Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford (Connecticut) metropolitan areas as the three cities that have fewer younger people than older people for the first time. Those three metro areas are part of a larger group of cities that have seen the percentage of older adult population increase. From 2020 to 2024, the number of U.S. metro areas with more older adults than children increased from 58 to 112. That is 28.9% of the nation’s 387 metro areas.
This data is partially the result of the population age-65 and older growing by 3.1% and the population 17 and younger decreasing by 0.2% since 2023.
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Back in 2020, there were three states that had more people aged 65 or older than 17 or younger — Florida, Vermont and Maine. Four years later, those three states were joined by eight more — Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia — to bring the total to 11 states. Additionally, nearly 45% of the counties in the country had more older adults than children.
"Children still outnumber older adults in the United States, despite a decline in births this decade,” said Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch, in a news release. "However, the gap is narrowing as baby boomers continue to age into their retirement years. In fact, the number of states and counties where older adults outnumber children is on the rise, especially in sparsely populated areas.”
Additionally, a new record high for the U.S. median age of 39.1 was reached, up 0.1 years from 2023, and up 0.6 years from 38.5 in 2020.
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