Maine is moving toward a dubious milestone in 2020, when residents 65 or older are expected to outnumber the young.
That’s 15 years ahead of the national projected date of 2035 released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday. However, the nation as a whole is aging rapidly.
“The aging of baby boomers means that within just a couple decades, older people are projected to outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history,” Jonathan Vespa, a demographer with the U.S. Census Bureau, said in a statement. “By 2035, there will be 78 million people 65 years and older compared to 76.4 million under the age of 18.”
He said 2030 is the year all baby boomers, those born from roughly 1946 to 1964, will be older than 65. That means one in every five residents will be of retirement age.
During the 2030s, the U.S. population is expected to grow at a slower pace, age considerably and become more racially and ethnically diverse. Between 2020 and 2050, the number of deaths is projected to rise substantially as the population ages, leaving international migration as the main impetus for population growth.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Maine projected to have more old than young people by 2020,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Lori Valigra, please follow this link to the BDN online.
