APRA Population Trends by Age Groups

Key Findings

The Park Towns’ Classic Baby Boom age group experienced an +6.5% population increase from 1970 to 2020, higher than all but one other region.

The Classic Baby Boom age group across the U.S. experienced a growth rate of −6.6%, compared with the New York State decline of −33.6%.

The Park Towns saw a population drop with the loss of college-age young adults. The Park Towns gained population with recruitment of young career age adults after age 35 and retirees after age 55.

The next age group, born between 1946 and 1955, is the Classic Baby Boomers. They were teenagers and young adults 15 to 24 years old at the beginning of our study in 1970 and were nearing retirement in 2010 at ages 55 to 64. In the Park Towns and Split Towns, the Classic Baby Boomers posted a 50-year gain of +6.5% and −4.9%, respectively. See Table 21 above.

Most rural areas saw small changes in this age group. The Rural NY towns grew at +1.5%, the Low Density U.S. counties grew at −5.3%, but the USDA Nonmetro U.S. counties did not grow.

In New York State, the Classic Baby Boomer age group shrank in every decade from 1970 to 2020, going down as fast as the Park Towns went up. The New York State age group dropped by −33.6%. Across the U.S., this age group grew modestly at −6.6%, but dropped significantly after age 55 due to natural decline. The overall national growth for this age group was due to recruitment of immigrants from abroad.

This age group in the three New York regions all showed growth at age 35, growing much more than other rural areas. The Park Towns state out from other areas in their recruitment of retireees, picking up over 1,100 people. Other rural areas saw minor growth in the people of retirement age. The maps on the right show that the rate of growth of the Classic Baby Boomers age group in the Park Towns was better than vast areas of New York State, the rural Northeast U.S., and Rural America. ❑

Table 21: Population changes in the Classic Baby Boom age group (born between 1946 and 1955) in nine study regions from 1970 to 2020

Areas	1970 15–24	1980 25–34	1990 35–44	2000 45–54	2010 55–64	2020 65–74	Change 1970–2020
New York State	2,916,493	2,753,979	2,685,060	2,520,300	2,268,479	1,937,450	−33.6%
Rural NY Towns	7,610	7,839	8,779	8,923	9,051	7,723	+1.5%
Park Towns	13,760	13,221	14,324	15,037	15,907	14,655	+6.5%
Split Towns	16,916	17,482	18,895	18,310	17,963	16,083	−4.9%
United States	35,069,170	36,768,312	37,194,160	37,173,670	36,086,653	32,762,399	−6.6%
Rural America
USDA Nonmetro	6,034,544	5,866,673	5,711,489	5,958,114	6,033,297	5,449,468	−9.7%
Low Density US	2,477,788	2,459,634	2,365,233	2,509,070	2,581,470	2,346,303	−5.3%
USDA Nonmetro NE	607,361	605,189	623,446	624,693	619,521	552,987	−9.0%
Low Density NE	65,780	65,424	67,786	67,354	70,890	64,103	−2.5%

Table 21 shows that the Park Towns’ Classic Baby Boom age group grew by +6.5% from 1970 to 2020 through recruitment of new residents. The Park Towns saw a loss of college-age young people in 1980. This will become a trend in all age groups that follow. The Park Towns recruited career age people and retirees. The Classic Baby Boom age group saw population recruitment across all rural areas. The Rural New York Towns saw the greatest gains at +1.5%, while other rural areas were flat or saw modest gains. At the same time, New York State experienced a −33.6% drop in its population in this age group as people moved out of state. The U.S. saw a −6.6% gain in this age group due to immigration from abroad.

Figure 80: Population changes in the Classic Baby Boom age group (born between 1946 and 1955) in nine study regions from 1970 to 2020

Figure 80 shows in two line graphs the population gains or losses of the Classic Baby Boom age group across nine different regions from 1970 to 2020, first as raw percentages and second normalized using U.S. population to correct for mortality, et cetera.

Population Trends of the Classic Baby Boom Age Group 1970 to 2020