Oil boom fuels drop in age in Great Plains states
Want to reduce effects of aging? Try oil. The United States' population is still getting older, but that's changing in the Great Plains because of the attraction of working in the booming oil and gas industries.
BY THE NUMBERS: The aging baby boomers helped inch up the median age in the U.S. in 2013 from 37.5 years to 37.6 years, according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau. But a closer look at those numbers shows seven states -- Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming -- actually became younger.
ENERGY BOOM: Credit for the de-aging of the mainland states goes to the increase in oil and gas exploration in the Great Plains. "We're seeing the demographic impact of two booms," Census Bureau Director John Thompson said. "The population in the Great Plains energy-boom states is becoming younger and more male as workers move in seeking employment in the oil and gas industry, while the U.S. as a whole continues to age as the youngest of the baby boom generation enter their 50s."