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The U.S. median age — the age at which half the population is aged above and the other half below — has increased by 0.6 years from April 2020 to July 2024 when it reached 39.1, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.
Between April 2020 and July 2024, the median age rose in 329 of the nation’s 387 metro areas. At the same time, 47 metro areas experienced a decline in median age — many of which were in the South, including some in Florida.
Given that nearly 294 million people (86% of the U.S. population) lived in one of the nation’s 387 metro areas in 2024, many metro areas saw an increase in their median ages, too.
Median ages in metro areas in 2024 ranged between 26.4 and 68.1, with 192 metro areas having a median age higher than the nation’s.
Many of the metro areas with the highest median ages were in Florida and Arizona, both popular retirement destinations (Figure 1).
Metro areas with the lowest median ages tended to have one of two things: a relatively high proportion of young adults, often due to the presence of a college/university or large military installation; or a relatively high proportion of children. Some had both.
Metro area aging trends
Between April 2020 and July 2024, the median age rose in 329 of the nation’s 387 metro areas (Figure 2).
At the same time, 47 metro areas experienced a decline in median age — many of which were in the South, including some in Florida.
The median ages of 11 metro areas did not change during the period.
Metro areas with oldest and youngest median ages
The median age increase in many metro areas aligned with the national aging trend: 61.2 million people aged 65 and over lived in the United States in 2024, up 13% from 54.2 million in 2020, in contrast to a decline in the number of children (ages 0 to 17).
The metro area with the highest median age in 2024 (68.1) was Wildwood-The Villages, FL, where 57% of the population was 65 and older reflecting the presence of a large retirement community.
Two other Florida metro areas — Punta Gorda and Homosassa Springs — followed closely with the second- (60.1) and third-highest (56.8) median ages, respectively. More than 35% of both populations were 65 and older.
Metro areas with the youngest median age were in Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT (26.4 years) and Logan, UT-ID (27). Both metro areas have a large university.
The result was two vastly different age structures in the nation’s oldest and youngest metro areas in 2024: Older adults dominated the population in Wildwood-The Villages, while there was a higher share of children and young adults in Provo-Orem-Lehi (Figure 3).
Rising and falling median ages
Some metro areas with relatively large shares of the aging population experienced sharper increases in median age than others.
For instance, South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal and Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach metro areas had the largest median age hikes from 2020 to 2024: 3.1 and 2.1 years, respectively.
Despite growth in the 65-and-older demographic, the median age in 47 metro areas decreased between 2020 and 2024.
While the United States is characterized by its increasingly large older adult population — a byproduct of factors such as a sizable baby boomer population and declining 0-17 demographic — these exceptions underscore that age patterns can differ, especially in some fast-growing metro areas.
Between 2020 and 2024, 10 metro areas – all of them in the South and seven in Florida – had their total populations rise by at least 10% and their median ages drop (Table 1).
For instance:
Ocala, FL, saw a 14.1% increase in population while its median age dropped by 1.1 years to 47.4.
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL, and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL, had respective population gains of 17.6% and 13.2% and median age dips of 0.7 years to 39.3 and 48.4, respectively.
The population of Sherman-Denison, TX, increased by 11.0%, while its median age went down 0.2 years to 39.2.
In those 10 metro areas, where positive net domestic migration tended to play an important role in their population growth, increases in the number of children and the younger adult population at least partially helped offset aging patterns.
That resulted in a decline in median age even amid growth in the number of older adults. This contrast underscores a more nuanced picture of the intersection of population growth and aging in U.S. metro areas.
Kristie Wilder is a demographer and Paul Mackun is a geographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch.
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- Written by: Kristie Wilder and Paul Mackun
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — One person was reported to have been killed in a solo-vehicle crash on Saturday afternoon in a remote part of Lake County.
The wreck, involving a Ford Raptor pickup, occurred shortly before 3:15 p.m. Saturday on Bartlett Springs Road above Lucerne.
The initial dispatch stated there was one subject trapped in a tree and another was with the vehicle about 10 feet over the embankment.
The California Highway Patrol’s online incident reports stated that the pickup was wrapped around a tree.
In addition to Northshore Fire, units from Williams Fire and Cal Fire responded. Cal Fire sent its helicopter from the Boggs Helitack to assist with the rescue, and the California Highway Patrol’s copter also was requested but later canceled.
Shortly before 4 p.m., units on scene stated over the air that there was a fatality.
The CHP left the scene around 7:30 p.m., but other units stayed on scene until the early morning hours on Sunday waiting for a tow truck to remove the pickup.
Another serious solo-vehicle crash occurred on Bartlett Springs Road east of Walker Ridge Road just before 9:30 p.m., according to the CHP and radio traffic.
That rollover crash was reported to have involved four individuals, with one being unconscious.
The injured individual was set to be flown by air ambulance to a regional trauma center.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
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