America is officially older than it's ever been.
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau released Thursday shows the median age in the United States in 2022 was 38.9 — the highest ever. It's a significant jump, up from 35 in 2000, and 30 in 1980. And combined with a birthrate that has, with a few exceptions, has been steadily declining for the last decade, demographers say a steadily aging population could have a wide-ranging ripple effect on the economy, the workforce and society as a whole.
The math is simple, according Dowell Myers, who studies demography at the University of Southern California and joined LAist's radio news program AirTalk on 89.3 FM to discuss the new Census data.
New births bring down the median age, so when the birthrate falls, the median age either remains stagnant or rises. But in recent decades, Myers says, the U.S. birthrate has been on the decline; millennial women, compared to previous generations, have tended to marry later and have fewer children.
Immigration and domestic relocation also tend to drive down the median age. People who relocate tend to be younger adults, Myers said, while immigrants often have more children than those born in the U.S. He said he predicts that immigration will swing upwards in the near future, to compensate for the departure of baby boomers from the workforce.
A top-heavy population can be a strain on the economy, Myers says. As baby boomers retire, they will require benefits like Social Security that must be supported by younger generations’ productivity and tax dollars — which can become a problem when there are fewer young people in the pipeline to join the workforce.
That's why easing the burdens around having a child will be crucial, according to Myers.
"I think there is a solution here, which is basically to invest more heavily in children,” Myers said. “Every child has to be more productive, because they're going to be carrying the weight of older people who expect to have all their entitlements met.”
Myers said the U.S. relies far too heavily on both members of a couple going to work. Parents often don’t have the ability to stay home with their kids, since it’s harder for a family to get by on a single income than it was in the middle of the last century, Myers said.
Simultaneously, housing and childcare costs have skyrocketed.
“That's a real burden,” Myers said. “If we could just make it easier for people to balance their family goals and employment goals, then it would be better for the nation.”
