U.S. Adults 65+ Will Outnumber Children by 2029
Adults over 65 will outnumber children by 2029
The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2029, for the first time in history, Americans aged 65 and older will outnumber children under 18. This shift, driven by the aging baby-boom generation, rising life expectancy, and below-replacement fertility, has already occurred in eleven states and nearly half of U.S. counties. The 2023 projections place the crossover five years earlier than the superseded 2017 estimate, reflecting lower projected fertility. The article explores the demographic forces at play and the differing interpretations of this milestone, from fiscal pressure on Social Security and Medicare to a marker of public-health success.
The entire closing of the gap over those four years came from the top line rising, not the bottom line falling.
- HaloZero
If anybody was curious, the states that already had this prior to 2020 are:
Maine, Vermont, and Florida
Since 2020: Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia now also qualify.
Montana is a bit of a surprise there... so is Oregon for me.
Source: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/older-ad...
- pmontra
So a lot of problems will be solved by 2049 (overpopulation) and probably many others will arise (we never had worldwide decreasing demographics.)
- kps
In the US, despite the .fr domain.
- baxtr
Let’s consider this logically:
What kind of people will not wanting children likely select for?
At least two kinds come to mind:
1) People who love children and are willing to have them regardless of the impact on their financial situation.
2) People living in societies where women (and likely some men) lack a say in whether or not to have children.
The first kind could be very good.
The second is definitely not something we should look forward to.
- 1vuio0pswjnm7
Adults born before computers, the public internet and the later appearance of so-called "tech" companies on the internet, will outnumber those born after computers, the internet and so-called "tech" company intermediaries
- speak_plainly
We're on the path to putting Augustine's City of God theory of population to the test.
- cwoolfe
This has to slow stock market growth, right? Less young people buying, more older people selling.
- subarctic
In the US, not the world