A changing America: U.S. more diverse than ever, millennials exceed boomers
MarketWatch - Jun 25, 2015
Young millennials now outnumber aging boomers and America is more diverse than ever. So says a new report from government researchers at the U.S. Census who study shifting demographic trends. Here’s a few quick facts.
• Millennials have become the biggest generation in American history. Some 83.1 million Americans were born from 1982 to 2000, the birth years generally ascribed to millennials. They now outnumber a shrinking baby-boomer population (born from 1946 to 1964) that totals 75.4 million.
• The millennials are very diverse, but not the most diverse. Some 44.2% of millennials are classified as something other than “white,†but 50.2% of the generation of Americans five years old or less are part of a minority ethnic group. They make up the first majority-minority generation in U.S. history.
• Florida is home to the highest percentage of people 65 or older at 19.1%, but that’s no surprise. Warm weather and no income or inheritance tax makes Florida the top destination for out-of-state retirees.
But did you know the cold northern state of Maine has the second highest percentage of elderly at 18.3? Many younger people have moved to other states in search of work or better climes, leaving behind an aging population of residents who can’t afford to move to Florida or Arizona.
• The youngest state in the U.S. is Utah, where the median age is 30.5. That means half the residents are under the age of 30.5 and half are above that age. The heavily Mormon state easily has the highest birth rate in the nation at 17.6% (2013)
