In 2023, about 17.7 percent of the American population was 65 years old or over; an increase from the last few years and a figure which is expected to reach 22.8 percent by 2050. This is a significant increase from 1950, when only eight percent of the population was 65 or over. A rapidly aging population In recent years, the aging population of the United States has come into focus as a cause for concern, as the nature of work and retirement is expected to change to keep up. If a population is expected to live longer than the generations before, the economy will have to change as well to fulfill the needs of the citizens. In addition, the birth rate in the U.S. has been falling over the last 20 years, meaning that there are not as many young people to replace the individuals leaving the workforce. The future population It’s not only the American population that is aging -- the global population is, too. By 2025, the median age of the global workforce is expected to be 39.6 years, up from 33.8 years in 1990. Additionally, it is projected that there will be over three million people worldwide aged 100 years and over by 2050.
In 2022, the state with the highest median age of its population was Maine at 45.1 years. Utah had the lowest median age at 32.1 years. View the distribution of the U.S. population by ethnicity here.
Additional information on the aging population in the United States
High birth rates during the so-called baby boom years that followed World War II followed by lower fertility and morality rates have left the United States with a serious challenge in the 21st Century. However, the issue of an aging population is certainly not an issue unique to the United States. The age distribution of the global population shows that other parts of the world face a similar issue.
Within the United States, the uneven distribution of populations aged 65 years and over among states offers both major challenges and potential solutions. On the one hand, federal action over the issue may be contentious as other states are set to harbor the costs of elderly care in states such as California and Florida. That said, domestic migration from comparably younger states may help to fill gaps in the workforce left by retirees in others.
Nonetheless, aging population issues are set to gain further prominence in the political and economic decisions made by policymakers regardless of the eventual distribution of America’s elderly. Analysis of the financial concerns of Americans by age shows many young people still decades from retirement hold strong concern over their eventual financial position.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/legal/#copyright-public-domainhttps://fred.stlouisfed.org/legal/#copyright-public-domain
Graph and download economic data for Population Ages 15 to 64 for the United States (SPPOP1564TOZSUSA) from 1960 to 2023 about 15 to 64 years, population, and USA.
Population 65+ by selected living arrangements. Estimates from US Census Bureau - American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2014-2018.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
United States Population: All Ages data was reported at 325,719.000 Person th in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 323,406.000 Person th for 2016. United States Population: All Ages data is updated yearly, averaging 176,356.000 Person th from Jun 1900 (Median) to 2017, with 118 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 325,719.000 Person th in 2017 and a record low of 76,094.000 Person th in 1900. United States Population: All Ages data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by US Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G002: Population by Age. Series Remarks Population data for the years 1900 to 1949 exclude the population residing in Alaska and Hawaii. Population data for the years 1940 to 1979 cover the resident population plus Armed Forces overseas. Population data for all other years cover only the resident population.
The estimated population of the U.S. was approximately 334.9 million in 2023, and the largest age group was adults aged 30 to 34. There were 11.88 million males in this age category and around 11.64 million females. Which U.S. state has the largest population? The population of the United States continues to increase, and the country is the third most populous in the world behind China and India. The gender distribution has remained consistent for many years, with the number of females narrowly outnumbering males. In terms of where the residents are located, California was the state with the highest population in 2023. The U.S. population by race and ethnicity The United States is well known the world over for having a diverse population. In 2023, the number of Black or African American individuals was estimated to be 45.76 million, which represented an increase of over four million since the 2010 census. The number of Asian residents has increased at a similar rate during the same time period and the Hispanic population in the U.S. has also continued to grow.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
United States US: Population: Male: Ages 80 and Above: % of Male Population data was reported at 2.993 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.928 % for 2016. United States US: Population: Male: Ages 80 and Above: % of Male Population data is updated yearly, averaging 1.869 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.993 % in 2017 and a record low of 1.142 % in 1960. United States US: Population: Male: Ages 80 and Above: % of Male Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Male population between the ages 80 and above as a percentage of the total male population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Population ages 80 and above, male (% of male population) in United States was reported at 3.1453 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Population ages 80 and above, male (% of male population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
People in different subgroups age at different rates. Surveys containing biomarkers can be used to assess these subgroup differences. We illustrate this using hand-grip strength to produce an easily interpretable, physical-based measure that allows us to compare characteristic-based ages across educational subgroups in the United States. Hand-grip strength has been shown to be a good predictor of future mortality and morbidity, and therefore a useful indicator of population aging. Data from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) were used. Two education subgroups were distinguished, those with less than a high school diploma and those with more education. Regressions on hand-grip strength were run for each sex and race using age and education, their interactions and other covariates as independent variables. Ages of identical mean hand-grip strength across education groups were compared for people in the age range 60 to 80. The hand-grip strength of 65 year old white males with less education was the equivalent to that of 69.6 (68.2, 70.9) year old white men with more education, indicating that the more educated men had aged more slowly. This is a constant characteristic age, as defined in the Sanderson and Scherbov article “The characteristics approach to the measurement of population aging” published 2013 in Population and Development Review. Sixty-five year old white females with less education had the same average hand-grip strength as 69.4 (68.2, 70.7) year old white women with more education. African-American women at ages 60 and 65 with more education also aged more slowly than their less educated counterparts. African American men with more education aged at about the same rate as those with less education. This paper expands the toolkit of those interested in population aging by showing how survey data can be used to measure the differential extent of aging across subpopulations.
This statistic depicts the age distribution in the United States from 2013 to 2023. In 2023, about 17.59 percent of the U.S. population fell into the 0-14 year category, 64.97 percent into the 15-64 age group and 17.43 percent of the population were over 65 years of age. The increasing population of the United States The United States of America is one of the most populated countries in the world, trailing just behind China and India. A total population count of around 320 million inhabitants and a more-or-less steady population growth over the past decade indicate that the country has steadily improved its living conditions and standards for the population. Leading healthier lifestyles and improved living conditions have resulted in a steady increase of the life expectancy at birth in the United States. Life expectancies of men and women at birth in the United States were at a record high in 2012. Furthermore, a constant fertility rate in recent years and a decrease in the death rate and infant mortality, all due to the improved standard of living and health care conditions, have helped not only the American population to increase but as a result, the share of the population younger than 15 and older than 65 years has also increased in recent years, as can be seen above.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) in United States was reported at 17.22 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Population ages 0-14, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
United States US: Population: Female: Ages 60-64: % of Female Population data was reported at 6.224 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 6.143 % for 2016. United States US: Population: Female: Ages 60-64: % of Female Population data is updated yearly, averaging 4.552 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.224 % in 2017 and a record low of 3.843 % in 1997. United States US: Population: Female: Ages 60-64: % of Female Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Female population between the ages 60 to 64 as a percentage of the total female population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
United States US: Population: Female: Ages 10-14: % of Female Population data was reported at 6.249 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.258 % for 2016. United States US: Population: Female: Ages 10-14: % of Female Population data is updated yearly, averaging 7.054 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.665 % in 1969 and a record low of 6.249 % in 2017. United States US: Population: Female: Ages 10-14: % of Female Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Female population between the ages 10 to 14 as a percentage of the total female population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
United States US: Population: Male: Ages 60-64: % of Male Population data was reported at 5.956 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 5.864 % for 2016. United States US: Population: Male: Ages 60-64: % of Male Population data is updated yearly, averaging 4.108 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.956 % in 2017 and a record low of 3.594 % in 1996. United States US: Population: Male: Ages 60-64: % of Male Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Male population between the ages 60 to 64 as a percentage of the total male population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
The average for 2023 based on 24 countries was 11.27 percent. The highest value was in Puerto Rico: 24.24 percent and the lowest value was in Honduras: 4.29 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.
The aging of the US population undoubtedly will be associated with macroeconomic changes. In particular, some combination of lower consumption growth and increased labor input will ultimately be required. But, the timing of these changes can have important effects on variables like the rate of return to capital and wages. If the adjustment to consumption is slow, which would be the case if budget deficits were allowed to rise significantly as the population ages, then aging is likely to be associated with an increase in the return to capital and a reduction in wages.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
United States US: Population: Male: Ages 50-54: % of Male Population data was reported at 6.741 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.885 % for 2016. United States US: Population: Male: Ages 50-54: % of Male Population data is updated yearly, averaging 5.415 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.196 % in 2011 and a record low of 4.426 % in 1986. United States US: Population: Male: Ages 50-54: % of Male Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Male population between the ages 50 to 54 as a percentage of the total male population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Population ages 80 and above, female (% of female population) in United States was reported at 4.7034 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Population ages 80 and above, female (% of female population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
United States US: Population: Female: Ages 5-9: % of Female Population data was reported at 6.176 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.267 % for 2016. United States US: Population: Female: Ages 5-9: % of Female Population data is updated yearly, averaging 7.009 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.134 % in 1964 and a record low of 6.176 % in 2017. United States US: Population: Female: Ages 5-9: % of Female Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Female population between the ages 5 to 9 as a percentage of the total female population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Context
The dataset tabulates the data for the Baltimore County, MD population pyramid, which represents the Baltimore County population distribution across age and gender, using estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. It lists the male and female population for each age group, along with the total population for those age groups. Higher numbers at the bottom of the table suggest population growth, whereas higher numbers at the top indicate declining birth rates. Furthermore, the dataset can be utilized to understand the youth dependency ratio, old-age dependency ratio, total dependency ratio, and potential support ratio.
Key observations
When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
Age groups:
Variables / Data Columns
Good to know
Margin of Error
Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.
Custom data
If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.
Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.
This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Baltimore County Population by Age. You can refer the same here
In 2023, about 17.7 percent of the American population was 65 years old or over; an increase from the last few years and a figure which is expected to reach 22.8 percent by 2050. This is a significant increase from 1950, when only eight percent of the population was 65 or over. A rapidly aging population In recent years, the aging population of the United States has come into focus as a cause for concern, as the nature of work and retirement is expected to change to keep up. If a population is expected to live longer than the generations before, the economy will have to change as well to fulfill the needs of the citizens. In addition, the birth rate in the U.S. has been falling over the last 20 years, meaning that there are not as many young people to replace the individuals leaving the workforce. The future population It’s not only the American population that is aging -- the global population is, too. By 2025, the median age of the global workforce is expected to be 39.6 years, up from 33.8 years in 1990. Additionally, it is projected that there will be over three million people worldwide aged 100 years and over by 2050.