America's age divide: How immigration is making the South and West younger while the Northeast gets older
Updated: 13:43 EST, 12 May 2011
The age divide between America's regions has grown to its widest in decades, with the population in the South and West now dramatically younger than in the Northeast.
There is now a gap of 3.9 years between the youngest and oldest regions of the country, according to figures released by the Census Bureau today.
The split has been fuelled by young Hispanic migrant families moving into western and southern states, while older baby boomers stay put further north.
Growing divide: States in the Northeast and Midwest are ageing as baby boomers get older, while young Hispanic families in the South and Southwest are making the median age lower in those areas
It could have a significant political impact, especially on controversial topics like immigration and changes to Medicare.
In some states, including New Hampshire, Connecticut and Wisconsin, the median age leapt by 2.5 years over the last decade.
The Bureau has not yet released data for every state, but so far the oldest is Maine, with a median age of 42.7.
The youngest are Alaska and the District of Colombia, where the median age is 33.8, going against the national trend.
In all, 12 of the 14 states with median ages of 36 or younger are located in the South and West, including California, Colorado and Georgia, whereas 13 of the 20 states with a median age of 38 or higher are in the Midwest and Northeast, including New Jersey, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Younger people are increasingly leaving these areas - particularly industrial cities in the Midwest like Detroit which have been badly affected by the recession - to find work in the Sun Belt.
Age divide: The chart shows how the median age differs vastly in America, from Maine, where it's 42.7, to Alaska, where it is just 33.8. 12 of the 14 states with a median age of less than 36 are in the South and West
But ageing is being slowed in the South and West, as young Hispanic migrants settle and have families, while others continue to move in.
William H. Frey, a demographer at Brookings Institution, said: 'The census numbers show that we are really splitting apart between regions that are gaining younger people and families with children and those that are getting older and where traditional families are becoming scarce.'
The nation's 78million baby boomers - mostly white - are now between the ages of 45 and 65 and past their childbearing years.
AMERICA'S AGE GAP: OLDEST AND YOUNGEST STATES
Youngest states by median age
Alaska 33.8
District of Colombia 33.8
Idaho 34.6
California 35.2
Georgia 35.3
Arizona 35.9
Oldest states by median age
Maine 42.7
West Virginia 41.3
New Hampshire 41.1
Florida 40.7
Montana 39.8
More and more households in Northeastern states such as Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island are now made up of single people aged 65 or older.
Mr Frey said: 'The age divide has a race-ethnic dimension, and it will certainly play a role in politics that pits benefits for seniors with those for younger adults and their children.'
In the West, which includes states with a high Hispanic population such as California, New Mexico and Arizona, the median age is 35.1, almost four years lower than the Northeast, on 39.
The difference is double that in 1990, when the older baby boomers were just beginning to move out of their childbearing years.
According to Census statistics the second youngest region is the South, on 36.4, 1.1 years younger than the recession-hit Midwest, where the median age is now 37.5.
Professor Leonard Steinhorn, a demographics expert, said there is the potential for more generational politics in ageing areas including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan where the majority of voters are 45 or older.
He said: 'There's a reason politicians don't run around talking that much these days about the cost of college loans or education, which affect younger people.
'The problem is when you have limited resources, you end up with the potential to pit one generation against the next.'
He added: 'If seniors vote more in elections and throw some people out, politicians may respond more to the concerns of seniors and take for granted youths.'
Decline: This abandoned school in Detroit shows the extent of the city's urban decay as young people move out to find work in the suburbs
Across the country, the median age increased by just over a year to 36.8, up from 35.3 in 2000.
States with strong economies, including Nevada, Wyoming and Texas, had the smallest increases in median age because they could attract young workers.
In the last decade Texas gained almost one million children, accounting for around half the total number of children gained in the U.S. Most of those million children were Hispanic.
Big cities aged most over the last decade, with the median age in hard-hit Detroit increasing by almost four years to 34.8.
But the Median age fell in Boston and the District of Colombia, as younger adults came to study or work in growing biotech industries.
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