American states with the oldest residents REVEALED… and it’s NOT Florida

The states with the oldest and youngest residents in the US have been revealed – and the results may be surprising.

Maine — where the average age of residents is 45.1 — was named the oldest, according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau data.

The territory of Puerto Rico was a close second at 44.7 years, followed by New Hampshire at 43.3 years; Vermont at 43.2 years; and West Virginia, which rounded out the top five at 42.9 years.

Florida ranks sixth with an average age of 42.7 years. And while popular belief views the Sunshine State as a tropical paradise where older generations gather in retirement, Maine is more than two years older.

Delaware finished in the top 10 oldest states at 41.5 years; Connecticut and Pennsylvania, tied at 40.9 years; and Hawaii at 40.8 years.

Factors such as a low birth rate (25 percent lower than the national average) and significant emigration pushed Maine into the top spot

A close second is the US territory of Puerto Rico, with an average age of 44.7 years. Young people have fled the island in the wake of Covid-19 lockdowns and economic turmoil

New Hampshire ranked third, with an average age of 43.3 years

So why does Maine have such an old average population? One of the most important factors is the birth rate, which was about 25 percent lower than the national average last year.

Emigration also plays a significant role, as young people flee the northernmost state in search of education and jobs.

As for Puerto Rico, the island is aging faster than most places on Earth as it experiences a mass exodus of working-age people.

More than 700,000 Puerto Ricans between the ages of 20 and 64 have left in the past 15 years, according to Amílcar Matos-Moreno, a postdoctoral researcher at Pennsylvania State University.

As the area was ravaged by a financial crisis, natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, political unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more young people left, Matos-Moreno told NBC News.

And as they sought opportunities in the continental United States and abroad, older adults were left with fewer immediate family members to care for them, leaving them dependent on caregivers and social services.

State governments recognize that an older average population puts stress on agencies and programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, and some have tried to solve the problem.

In 2017, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu created the Millennial Advisory Council, whose job is to recommend policies to attract and retain younger workers.

Some of the council’s recommendations in their first report included offering incentives for hiring new graduates and promoting family-friendly workplace policies.

Contrary to popular belief, Florida does not have the oldest residents in the US – and was even surpassed by Vermont (pictured), with an average age of 43.2 years

Utah retains its title as the youngest state in the country for another year. The average age of 32.1 years is almost seven years younger than the national average

Washington, DC was the second youngest, with an average age of 34.9 years

On the other end of the spectrum, Utah was the youngest with an average age of 32.1 years, followed by Washington DC at 34.9 years.

North Dakota ranked third at 36.2 years; Texas ranked fourth at 35.6 years; and Alaska rounded out the top five at 35.9 years.

The average age across the country was 39 years in 2022.

That’s nearly seven years older than the median in Utah, the long-reigning youngest state.

According to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, Utah has the highest per capita birth rate in the country, the combined result of its median age and high fertility rate.

However, the population is getting older.

Speaking to KSL last year, Kristie Wilder, a demographer with the Census Bureau’s population division, said this may have been caused when birth rates started to rise.

This decline started around the same time as the recession in 2008 and 2009.

“With birth rates declining and the aging of the baby boom and Generation X cohorts, the average age will likely continue to rise in the coming years,” says Wilder.