Even States Like Florida With High Median Ages Have Counties Younger Than the National Median

Many assume Florida is one of the nation’s oldest states and Utah to be among the youngest.

But while a retirement magnet, not every corner of the Sunshine (or any other) state is “old” or, for that matter, “young.” Some older states like Florida have counties with much younger populations, while some counties within the youngest states like Utah are graying fast. In both instances, these intra-state discrepancies are driven by migration patterns combined with the numbers of births and deaths.

The nation as a whole is aging. But a look at the median age (the age where half the population is older and the other half is younger) of states and counties tells a more nuanced story (Figure 1).

For example, Maine is the nation’s oldest state, yet it’s also the only state whose median age (44.8) hasn’t increased since 2020.

“Median age is useful as a broad measure of how young or old a state’s population is, but it doesn’t provide insight into specific age groups and, of course, says nothing about younger or older areas within a state."

– Marc Perry, senior demographer in the

U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Division

Utah remains the youngest state with a median age of 32.4, but it also ranks among the states aging fastest: Utah’s median age increased by 1.0 from 2020 to 2024, one of only six states that added a year or more to their median age during that period.

Some states with older median ages also have pockets of younger populations. In 2024, Florida was the nation’s fifth oldest state with a median age of 42.6, after Maine, Vermont (43.6), New Hampshire (43.6) and West Virginia (43.0)— states all well above the nation’s median age of 39.1.

But Florida also had some counties much younger than the national median age.

“Median age is useful as a broad measure of how young or old a state’s population is, but it doesn’t provide insight into specific age groups and, of course, says nothing about younger or older areas within a state,” said Marc Perry, senior demographer in the Census Bureau's Population Division.

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