Recent estimates done in 2006 at the county-level of the population by age show how quickly the U.S. population is aging. The map below shows areas of the Rocky Mountain West with relatively high proportions of residents who are 65 years of age and older. Areas in black have the oldest populations – 20% and more of all residents are 65 and older. Areas in gray also are relatively old with 15 to 20% of residents 65 and older. Areas with relatively young populations are shown in green – ones with fewer than 10% of residents who are 65 and older.

The two maps below show these same data for all areas within the 48 contiguous states. The first shows areas by age in 2006 and the second shows areas by age 16 years earlier at the time of the 1990 Census of Population.

The population of many areas of the U.S. is aging in this way. However, some are aging faster than others. Over the course of the next twenty years, the Census Bureau predicts that the 65 and older populations of both Wyoming and Montana will more than double in size. And by 2030 these two states will be the 3rd and 5th oldest populations in the U.S., as measured by the percent of the population 65 and older. The relatively fast-aging of the populations of these two Rocky Mountain states is the result of how they are currently growing. Much of their population growth is occurring among older adults and this pattern will continue.

- Larry Swanson, Director, O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West