Age Differences In America

Birthdays take on different meanings as people grow older. To a young person, a birthday might mean an opportunity to get a driver’s license or to vote for the first time. To an older person, it might mean a retirement party. Many health issues, from childhood diseases to geriatric conditions, are associated with age.
These and many other life experiences are somewhat different for the male population than for the female population. The U.S. Census Bureau’s Population
Estimates Program produces age and sex data for the
United States, states, and counties.
Men and Women
Within the total resident population in 2005, women and girls outnumbered men and boys by 4.4 million—
150.4 million compared with 146.0 million. This difference
was not spread evenly throughout the age groups, as illustrated in the age pyramid shown in
Figure 1. Among those under 18, boys outnumbered girls in 2005. From about age 40 on, women were the majority. Among people in their nineties, the ratio of men to women was 38 to 100, reflecting the greater life expectancy of women than men.1 The pyramid bulges in the middle, indicating the large cohort known as the Baby Boom Generation, who were aged
41 to 59 in 2005. Other irregularities in the pyramid frequently reflect years with relatively high or low birth rates.
Age Groups
Between Census Day (April 1, 2000) and July 1, 2005, the population of most 5-year age groups grew. Five age groups experienced declines, as illustrated in
Figure 2.
The largest decline (7.5 percent) was among the population aged 35 to 39, the age group that the Baby
Boom Generation has left. The fastest-growing population was the population aged 55 to 59. This age group grew about 29 percent as the oldest Baby Boomers replaced the smaller cohort of people who were born before them.
While the total population increased 5 percent between 2000 and 2005, people in their seventies declined by 2.2 percent. A “birth dearth” during the late 1920s and early 1930s was largely responsible for this decline. Other older groups saw increases. The population aged 85 and older grew by 20 percent.
On July 1, 2005, the median age of the population was
36.2 years—older than the highest median age ever recorded in a census (35.3 in Census 2000).
U.S. Census Bureau Population Profile of the United States: Dynamic Version 1
AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION IN 2005
Words That Count
An age pyramid is a horizontal bar graph, usually showing the size of the male population on the left and the female population on the right, with age groupings beginning with the youngest populations on the bottom and ending with the oldest ones at the top (Figure 1).
Median age is the age at which half the population is older and half is younger.
A birth cohort is a group of people born during the same time period.
The Baby Boom Generation is the large cohort of people born from 1946 to 1964.
1 The number of males per 100 females is called the sex ratio. To find out more about sex ratios, see the chapters on men and women and on the older population.
2 Population Profile of the United States: Dynamic Version U.S. Census Bureau
Figure 1.
Population by Single Year of Age and Sex: 2005
Millions
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, July 1, 2005.
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100+
2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0
Male population Age Female population
BABY BOOM GENERATION
U.S. Census Bureau Population Profile of the United States: Dynamic Version 3
Figure 2.
Percent Change in Population by Age: 2000 to 2005
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2005.
5.9
-4.9
1.6
4.1
10.9
3.5
-2.1
-7.5
1.9
11.9
13.7
28.8
20.3
6.3
-3.9
-0.1
14.1
20.2
85
and older
Under 5- 9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84
5
MT
13.7
AK
6.4
NM
12.1
OR
12.8
MN
12.1
KS
13.0
SD
14.2
ND
14.7
MO
13.3
WA
11.3
FL
16.8
IL
12.0
IN
12.4
WI
13.0
NY
13.0
PA
15.3
MI
12.3
OH
13.3
IA
14.7
ME
14.4
MA 13.3
CT 13.5
AZ
12.7
NV
11.2
TX
9.9
CO
9.8
CA
10.7
WY
12.1
UT
8.7
ID
11.4
NE
13.3
OK
13.2
GA
9.6
AR
13.8
AL
13.2
NC
12.1
MS
12.2
LA
11.7
TN
12.5
KY
12.5
VA
11.4
SC
12.4
WV
15.3
RI 13.9
DE 13.1
MD 11.4
DC 12.1
NJ 12.9
Figure 3.
Percent of the Population 65 and Older for States: 2005
PR
12.0
HI 13.6
VT
13.0
NH
12.1
United States = 12.4 percent
Percent of all residents Less than 10.0 percent
10.0 to 11.9
12.0 to 12.9
13.0 to 13.9
14.0 or more
Source: U.S.
Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, July 1, 2005.
State Differences
The geographic distribution of the population aged 65 and older illustrates age differences by state. While 12 percent of U.S. residents were aged 65 and older in
2005, the proportions in individual states differed.
Florida had the highest proportion in this age range,
17 percent (Figure 3). West Virginia and Pennsylvania followed, with about 15 percent each. Alaska anchored the other end of the scale, with 6 percent of its population in this age range. The proportion of the population that was 65 and older was also below 10 percent in Utah, Georgia, Colorado, and Texas.
State differences can also be seen when looking at sex ratios—the number of males per 100 females. Because there are more women and girls than men and boys nationwide, the U.S. sex ratio is 96. The states with the lowest sex ratios were Maryland and Rhode Island, where there were 93 males for every 100 females. The
District of Columbia’s sex ratio was even lower (89). In
2005, six states had more men and boys than women and girls and therefore had sex ratios over 100. They were Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Alaska,
and
Nevada. Alaska and Nevada had particularly high sex ratios. In each of these states, there were about 103 males for every 100 females.
4 Population Profile of the United States: Dynamic Version U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau Can Tell You More
See the Population Estimates Program’s Web site
.
Look for information on related topics on the
Census Bureau’s Web site .
Contact the Census Bureau’s Demographic Call
Center (toll-free) at 1-866-758-1060.
E-mail .
MT
99.0
AK
102.6
NM
95.9
OR
98.9
MN
98.6
KS
97.9
SD
98.2
ND
98.2
MO
95.3
WA
98.3
FL
95.7
IL
96.4
IN
97.0
WI
98.1
NY
93.8
PA
94.2
MI
96.7
OH
95.0
IA
97.0
ME
95.1
MA 93.9
CT 94.1
AZ
99.7
NV
103.2
TX
98.6
CO
100.9
CA
99.1
WY
100.7
UT
100.6
ID
100.2
NE
97.2
OK
96.8
GA
96.8
AR
96.0
AL
93.9
NC
95.3
MS
93.7
LA
94.1
TN
95.6
KY
95.8
VA
94.1
SC
94.0
WV
95.8
RI 93.1
DE 94.5
MD 93.1
DC 89.2
NJ 94.9
Figure 4.
Sex Ratios by State: 2005
PR
12.0
HI 94.4
VT
97.0
NH
97.1
United States = 96.5
Number of males per
100 females
Less than 94.0
94.0 to 96.9
97.0 to 99.9
100.0 to 102.9
103 or more
Source: U.S Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, July 1, 2005.