Census Bureau: North Dakota’s median age has decreased

MINOT, N.D. (AP) - U.S. Census Bureau estimates show that North Dakota’s median age has dropped in recent years, bucking a national trend.

The estimates indicate that North Dakota’s median age dropped from 37 in 2010 to about 35 in 2017, the Minot Daily News reported .

The number of people younger than 18 grew by about 17 percent during that time period, while the number of residents aged 65 and older increased by 16 percent, the estimates found. The number of residents aged 15 to 44 years increased by almost 16 percent.

Williams County had the largest decrease in median age in the country, dropping 7 years between 2010 and 2017, according to Molly Cromwell, a demographer at the U.S. Census Bureau. The county’s median age was about 32 years in 2017.

“Nationally, almost 17 percent of counties saw a decrease in median age from April 2010 to July 2017,” Cromwell said. “The majority of the counties getting younger were in the Midwest, and of these counties with 10,000 people or more in July 2017, some of the largest decreases were in North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.”

The Bureau said the U.S. overall saw its median age increase from about 37 years in 2010 to 38 years in 2017.

“Baby boomers, and millennials alike, are responsible for this trend in increased aging,” Cromwell said. “Boomers continue to age and are slowly outnumbering children as the birth rate has declined steadily over the last decade.”

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Information from: Minot Daily News, http://www.minotdailynews.com