Utah has nation's youngest population
But senior citizens are expected to outnumber youths someday
As it has grown, the year-round West Jordan school has added staff and been creative with space to accommodate its 1,650 students, says Principal Norman Emerson. One step has been to house sixth-graders at a nearby middle school.
"We are holding a class on the stage," Emerson said. "There are 12 portable classrooms placed on the grounds ... We've come up with ways of staggering the lunches and recesses."
And all indications are the booming elementary school age population will continue to grow, at Oakcrest and across the state. A new census report shows Utah continues to be the nation's youngest state.
Nearly one-in-10 Utahns are under the age of 5, according to estimates for July 1, 2007, released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. And Utah has the nation's lowest median age, at 28.5 years.
However, while Utah is youthful, it's also aging.
By 2015, one Utahn will turn 65 every 23 minutes, says Debbie Booth, an information specialist for the Division of Aging and Adult Services. Because of that, Utah is projected to see a time when senior citizens outnumber youth.
That aging boom is coupled with slow growth among the working age population, particularly young adults, says Pamela Perlich, senior research economist at the University of Utah.
The state's working age population is growing, but slowly, Perlich said. From July 1, 2006, to July 1, 2007, Utah saw an estimated increase of just 38,000 people ages 18 to 64.
"Not all these folks work," Perlich said. "So we have to import labor to meet the demand for workers. Immigrants continue to fill much of this demand gap."
Utah, like the nation, is becoming more diverse. Nationally, the largest minority group, Hispanic, has grown to 45.5 million, which is 15.1 percent of the nation's population.
In Utah, an estimated 306,500 Hispanics comprise 11 percent of Utah's population. Roughly one-in-four new Utahns were Hispanic from 2006 to 2007. Overall, minorities comprised roughly 40 percent of the state's growth from 2006 to 2007.
The state's growing diversity, particularly among Hispanics, is the continuation of an ongoing trend, says state demographer Juliette Tennert.
"In 1990, 91 percent of the population was non-Hispanic white. In 2007 it dropped to 82 percent," she said. "That's a pretty significant change."
And, nationwide, minorities are younger than non-Hispanic whites, who have a median age of 40.8. That's compared to a median 27.6 years old for Hispanics, who have the youngest median age.
Recent comments
"Not all these folks work," Perlich said. "So we have...
Anonymous | May 1, 2008 at 10:47 p.m.
I am on a Utah retirement pension. Keep those kids coming!. They...
Retired | May 1, 2008 at 6:03 p.m.
"Overpopulation"? Give me a break, look at most of Utah...
CougarKeith | May 1, 2008 at 5:32 p.m.
