US population rapidly aging, median age hits 39 according to new Census data.
New Census Bureau data shows that the US population has aged over the past two decades, with the median age rising from 35.2 in 2000 to 38.8 in 2020. The population of adults 65 and older grew nearly five times faster than the total US population in the past century, and that age group represented 16.8% of the total US population in 2020. There is growing concern about what the public health needs of an aging population will look like. The Census data also showed that the multiracial population was the youngest of any race group in 2020.