The United States Demographics: Median age, Gender, Race, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
United States vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	United States	World
1960	29.2	22.5
1961	29	22.5
1962	28.7	22.4
1963	28.5	22.2
1964	28.2	22
1965	28.1	21.8
1966	27.9	21.7
1967	27.9	21.6
1968	27.9	21.5
1969	27.9	21.5
1970	27.8	21.4
1971	27.9	21.4
1972	28	21.5
1973	28.3	21.5
1974	28.5	21.6
1975	28.7	21.7
1976	28.9	21.9
1977	29.2	22
1978	29.6	22.2
1979	29.9	22.3
1980	30.1	22.5
1981	30.4	22.6
1982	30.7	22.7
1983	30.9	22.9
1984	31.2	23
1985	31.5	23.2
1986	31.8	23.3
1987	32.1	23.4
1988	32.4	23.6
1989	32.7	23.8
1990	32.9	23.9
1991	33.2	24.1
1992	33.4	24.3
1993	33.6	24.5
1994	33.8	24.7
1995	34.1	25
1996	34.4	25.2
1997	34.6	25.4
1998	34.9	25.7
1999	35.1	25.9
2000	35.3	26.1
2001	35.5	26.3
2002	35.6	26.5
2003	35.8	26.7
2004	36	27
2005	36.2	27.2
2006	36.4	27.4
2007	36.5	27.6
2008	36.6	27.8
2009	36.7	28
2010	36.9	28.2
2011	37	28.4
2012	37.1	28.6
2013	37.2	28.9
2014	37.3	29.1
2015	37.5	29.3
2016	37.6	29.5
2017	37.7	29.8
2018	37.9	30
2019	38	30.3
2020	38.2	30.6
2021	38.5	30.8
2022	38.7	31
2023	39	31.3
2024	39.3	31.6
2025	39.5	31.9
2026	39.7	32.1
2027	39.9	32.3
2028	40.1	32.6
2029	40.3	32.8
2030	40.6	33
2031	40.8	33.2
2032	41	33.4
2033	41.2	33.6
2034	41.3	33.8
2035	41.5	34
2036	41.6	34.2
2037	41.7	34.4
2038	41.7	34.6
2039	41.8	34.8
2040	41.8	35
2041	41.9	35.2
2042	41.9	35.4
2043	42	35.6
2044	42.1	35.8
2045	42.2	36
2046	42.3	36.2
2047	42.4	36.4
2048	42.5	36.6
2049	42.7	36.8
2050	42.9	37.1

In 1960, the median age in the United States was 29.2 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 39.3 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 22nd for median age 64 years ago (old to young), the United States ranks 50th currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in the United States is expected to increase to around 42.9 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

The United States demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	United States
	Male	Female
0-4	2.75%	2.62%
5-9	2.98%	2.83%
10-14	3.16%	2.98%
15-19	3.39%	3.2%
20-24	3.38%	3.17%
25-29	3.38%	3.16%
30-34	3.64%	3.4%
35-39	3.56%	3.34%
40-44	3.43%	3.25%
45-49	3.11%	2.97%
50-54	3.07%	2.96%
55-59	3.04%	2.99%
60-64	3.12%	3.16%
65-69	2.77%	2.95%
70-74	2.19%	2.45%
75-79	1.61%	1.89%
80+	1.65%	2.42%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. The United States has low demographic potential with 44.1% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 144/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	United States			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	66.9%	52.2%	14.7%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	67.6%	52.6%	15%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	67.5%	52.4%	15.1%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	67.2%	52%	15.2%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	66.9%	51.6%	15.3%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	66.6%	51.1%	15.4%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	66%	50.4%	15.6%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	65.1%	49.5%	15.6%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	64.1%	48.4%	15.6%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	63%	47.3%	15.7%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	62%	46.3%	15.7%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	60.9%	45.1%	15.8%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	59.4%	43.6%	15.8%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	57.8%	42%	15.8%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	56.3%	40.5%	15.8%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	54.9%	39%	15.9%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	53.5%	37.5%	16%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	52.4%	36.3%	16.1%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	51.5%	35.2%	16.3%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	50.8%	34.3%	16.5%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	50.3%	33.7%	16.6%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	50.1%	33.2%	16.8%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	49.9%	33%	17%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	49.9%	32.7%	17.2%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	49.9%	32.5%	17.4%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	49.8%	32.2%	17.6%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	49.7%	32%	17.7%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	49.9%	31.9%	18%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	50.3%	32.1%	18.2%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	50.8%	32.4%	18.4%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	51.2%	32.6%	18.6%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	51.7%	32.9%	18.7%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	52%	33.2%	18.8%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	52.2%	33.3%	18.9%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	52.1%	33.3%	18.9%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	52%	33.1%	18.9%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	51.7%	32.9%	18.8%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	51.3%	32.6%	18.7%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	50.9%	32.3%	18.6%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	50.4%	32%	18.4%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	50%	31.8%	18.3%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	49.6%	31.5%	18.2%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	49.3%	31.2%	18.1%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	48.9%	30.9%	18%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	48.5%	30.5%	18%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	48.1%	30.1%	18%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	47.8%	29.8%	18%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	47.8%	29.6%	18.2%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	47.9%	29.4%	18.5%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	48.1%	29.3%	18.8%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	48.2%	29.2%	19%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	48.5%	29.1%	19.4%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	49%	29.1%	19.9%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	49.5%	29%	20.5%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	50%	29%	21%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	50.4%	28.9%	21.5%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	50.8%	28.8%	22%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	51.2%	28.6%	22.6%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	51.7%	28.5%	23.2%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	52.2%	28.3%	23.8%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	52.6%	28.1%	24.5%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	53%	27.8%	25.2%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	53.4%	27.4%	26%	54%	39%	15%
2023	53.9%	27.1%	26.8%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	54.4%	26.8%	27.7%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64. Age dependency in the United States increased from 48.5% to 54.4% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

United States working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	United States	World
1960	59.9%	57.6%
1961	59.7%	57.5%
1962	59.7%	57.4%
1963	59.8%	57.2%
1964	59.9%	57%
1965	60%	56.9%
1966	60.2%	56.8%
1967	60.6%	56.9%
1968	60.9%	56.9%
1969	61.4%	56.9%
1970	61.7%	57%
1971	62.2%	57.1%
1972	62.7%	57.2%
1973	63.4%	57.3%
1974	64%	57.3%
1975	64.6%	57.4%
1976	65.1%	57.5%
1977	65.6%	57.7%
1978	66%	58%
1979	66.3%	58.4%
1980	66.5%	58.7%
1981	66.6%	59%
1982	66.7%	59.3%
1983	66.7%	59.6%
1984	66.7%	59.9%
1985	66.8%	60.1%
1986	66.8%	60.4%
1987	66.7%	60.5%
1988	66.5%	60.7%
1989	66.3%	60.8%
1990	66.1%	60.9%
1991	65.9%	61%
1992	65.8%	61.1%
1993	65.7%	61.2%
1994	65.7%	61.3%
1995	65.8%	61.5%
1996	65.9%	61.7%
1997	66.1%	61.9%
1998	66.3%	62.2%
1999	66.5%	62.5%
2000	66.7%	62.8%
2001	66.8%	63.1%
2002	67%	63.4%
2003	67.2%	63.7%
2004	67.3%	64%
2005	67.5%	64.3%
2006	67.7%	64.5%
2007	67.7%	64.7%
2008	67.6%	64.9%
2009	67.5%	65%
2010	67.5%	65.1%
2011	67.3%	65.2%
2012	67.1%	65.2%
2013	66.9%	65.2%
2014	66.7%	65.2%
2015	66.5%	65.1%
2016	66.3%	65.1%
2017	66.1%	65%
2018	65.9%	64.9%
2019	65.7%	64.9%
2020	65.5%	64.8%
2021	65.4%	64.9%
2022	65.2%	64.9%
2023	65%	65%
2024	64.7%	65.1%
2025	64.5%	65.2%
2026	64.3%	65.3%
2027	64%	65.4%
2028	63.8%	65.4%
2029	63.5%	65.4%
2030	63.4%	65.4%
2031	63.2%	65.4%
2032	63.1%	65.4%
2033	63%	65.4%
2034	62.8%	65.3%
2035	62.6%	65.2%
2036	62.4%	65%
2037	62.3%	64.9%
2038	62.2%	64.7%
2039	62.1%	64.6%
2040	62%	64.5%
2041	62%	64.4%
2042	61.9%	64.3%
2043	61.8%	64.2%
2044	61.7%	64.1%
2045	61.5%	63.9%
2046	61.4%	63.8%
2047	61.3%	63.7%
2048	61.2%	63.6%
2049	61.1%	63.4%
2050	61%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in the United States changed from 67.3% to 64.7% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	United States	World
1960	31.3%	37.4%
1961	31.4%	37.5%
1962	31.3%	37.6%
1963	31.1%	37.8%
1964	30.9%	38%
1965	30.7%	38%
1966	30.4%	38%
1967	30%	38%
1968	29.5%	37.9%
1969	29%	37.8%
1970	28.6%	37.7%
1971	28%	37.6%
1972	27.4%	37.5%
1973	26.6%	37.3%
1974	25.9%	37.2%
1975	25.2%	37.1%
1976	24.4%	36.9%
1977	23.8%	36.7%
1978	23.2%	36.3%
1979	22.8%	35.9%
1980	22.4%	35.5%
1981	22.1%	35.2%
1982	22%	34.9%
1983	21.8%	34.6%
1984	21.7%	34.3%
1985	21.5%	34%
1986	21.3%	33.8%
1987	21.3%	33.6%
1988	21.3%	33.4%
1989	21.5%	33.2%
1990	21.6%	33%
1991	21.7%	32.9%
1992	21.8%	32.7%
1993	21.9%	32.5%
1994	21.9%	32.3%
1995	21.8%	32.1%
1996	21.7%	31.8%
1997	21.5%	31.5%
1998	21.4%	31.1%
1999	21.3%	30.8%
2000	21.2%	30.4%
2001	21%	30%
2002	20.9%	29.6%
2003	20.7%	29.2%
2004	20.5%	28.8%
2005	20.3%	28.5%
2006	20.2%	28.1%
2007	20%	27.9%
2008	19.9%	27.6%
2009	19.8%	27.5%
2010	19.7%	27.3%
2011	19.6%	27.1%
2012	19.5%	27%
2013	19.4%	26.9%
2014	19.3%	26.8%
2015	19.2%	26.6%
2016	19.1%	26.5%
2017	18.9%	26.4%
2018	18.8%	26.2%
2019	18.6%	26%
2020	18.4%	25.8%
2021	18.1%	25.6%
2022	17.9%	25.3%
2023	17.6%	25%
2024	17.3%	24.7%
2025	17.1%	24.4%
2026	16.9%	24.1%
2027	16.7%	23.8%
2028	16.6%	23.4%
2029	16.4%	23.1%
2030	16.3%	22.8%
2031	16.1%	22.6%
2032	16%	22.3%
2033	16%	22.1%
2034	15.9%	21.9%
2035	15.9%	21.7%
2036	15.9%	21.6%
2037	15.9%	21.5%
2038	15.9%	21.4%
2039	15.9%	21.3%
2040	15.9%	21.2%
2041	16%	21.1%
2042	16%	21%
2043	16%	21%
2044	16%	20.9%
2045	16%	20.8%
2046	16%	20.7%
2047	16%	20.7%
2048	16%	20.6%
2049	15.9%	20.5%
2050	15.9%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in the United States decreased from 20.5% to 17.3% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	United States	World
1960	8.83%	4.97%
1961	8.93%	4.99%
1962	9.01%	5.01%
1963	9.07%	5.02%
1964	9.14%	5.04%
1965	9.26%	5.08%
1966	9.37%	5.12%
1967	9.45%	5.16%
1968	9.53%	5.2%
1969	9.62%	5.24%
1970	9.72%	5.28%
1971	9.81%	5.32%
1972	9.9%	5.37%
1973	10%	5.42%
1974	10.1%	5.47%
1975	10.3%	5.53%
1976	10.4%	5.59%
1977	10.6%	5.65%
1978	10.7%	5.71%
1979	10.9%	5.77%
1980	11.1%	5.81%
1981	11.2%	5.81%
1982	11.3%	5.8%
1983	11.5%	5.79%
1984	11.6%	5.8%
1985	11.7%	5.82%
1986	11.9%	5.86%
1987	12%	5.91%
1988	12.1%	5.95%
1989	12.2%	6.01%
1990	12.3%	6.07%
1991	12.4%	6.14%
1992	12.4%	6.21%
1993	12.4%	6.29%
1994	12.4%	6.37%
1995	12.4%	6.45%
1996	12.4%	6.53%
1997	12.4%	6.61%
1998	12.3%	6.68%
1999	12.2%	6.76%
2000	12.2%	6.84%
2001	12.1%	6.92%
2002	12.1%	7.01%
2003	12.1%	7.1%
2004	12.1%	7.18%
2005	12.1%	7.26%
2006	12.2%	7.34%
2007	12.3%	7.41%
2008	12.5%	7.47%
2009	12.7%	7.52%
2010	12.8%	7.58%
2011	13.1%	7.66%
2012	13.4%	7.78%
2013	13.7%	7.92%
2014	14%	8.08%
2015	14.3%	8.26%
2016	14.6%	8.45%
2017	14.9%	8.65%
2018	15.3%	8.88%
2019	15.7%	9.1%
2020	16.1%	9.33%
2021	16.5%	9.53%
2022	16.9%	9.74%
2023	17.4%	9.98%
2024	17.9%	10.2%
2025	18.4%	10.4%
2026	18.8%	10.6%
2027	19.3%	10.8%
2028	19.7%	11.1%
2029	20%	11.5%
2030	20.4%	11.7%
2031	20.6%	12%
2032	20.9%	12.3%
2033	21.1%	12.6%
2034	21.3%	12.8%
2035	21.5%	13.1%
2036	21.7%	13.4%
2037	21.8%	13.7%
2038	21.9%	13.9%
2039	22%	14.1%
2040	22%	14.3%
2041	22.1%	14.5%
2042	22.2%	14.7%
2043	22.2%	14.9%
2044	22.3%	15%
2045	22.5%	15.2%
2046	22.6%	15.4%
2047	22.7%	15.7%
2048	22.9%	15.9%
2049	23%	16.1%
2050	23.1%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in the United States increased from 12.1% to 17.9% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.