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Key Findings
The Park Towns’ Late Baby Boom age group experienced a −8.8% population loss from 1970 to 2020. All rural areas lost population among the Late Baby Boom age group.
The Late Baby Boom age group across the U.S. experienced a growth rate of +6.3%, compared with the New York State decline of −21.0%.
The Park Towns recruited almost 2,000 career age adults after age 35, but these gains did not recoup the earlier loss of more than 4,000 young people of college age.
The age group born between 1956 and 1965 contains the second wave of the Baby Boom generation, which we call the Late Baby Boom. They were kids 5 to 14 years old in 1970 and by 2010 they were in the prime of their working careers at age 45 to 54 years. See Table 22. This age group also marks the beginning of a shift that continues today of rural areas seeing steady and significant population losses.
The Park Towns’ Late Baby Boom age group saw a −8.8% population loss, which was consistent with other rural areas. Other rural areas saw losses of −7.8% to −13.9%. The Split Towns posted a −2.5% gain.
The Park Towns’ Late Baby Boom age group lost over 4,000 college-age young people from 1970 to 1990. Despite this heavy loss, it’s important to note that over 15,000 young people chose to stay or moved into the Adirondacks at that time. The Park Towns recruited people after age 35, seeing gains of almost 2,000 career age people from 1990 to 2010. The Park Towns showed a rate of recruitment of career age people 35 years and older that was greater than other rural areas.
New York State saw major population losses in every decade, totaling −21.0% for this age group. Over 500,000 Late Baby Boomers left the state in these years. The U.S. grew by +6.3%.
The Park Towns’ overall net loss of almost 2,000 Late Baby Boomers from 1970 to 2020 is consistent with the experiences of other rural areas. Recruitment of retirees in 2020 may recoup some losses from earlier decades. The maps on the right show that the experience of the Park Towns was consistent with New York State, the rural Northeast U.S. and Rural America. ❑
Table 22: Population changes in the Late Baby Boom age group (born between 1956 and 1965) in nine study regions from 1970 to 2020
| Areas | 1970 5–14 |
1980 15–24 |
1990 25–34 |
2000 35–44 |
2010 45–54 |
2020 55–64 |
Change 1970–2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York State | 3,371,161 | 3,077,813 | 3,108,618 | 3,087,374 | 2,836,887 | 2,662,997 | −21.0% |
| Rural NY Towns | 11,676 | 9,505 | 9,082 | 10,078 | 10,466 | 9,917 | −15.1% |
| Park Towns | 19,090 | 17,449 | 15,008 | 16,364 | 17,116 | 17,412 | −8.8% |
| Split Towns | 21,528 | 20,466 | 21,665 | 21,703 | 22,416 | 20,991 | −2.5% |
| United States | 40,404,539 | 42,012,654 | 42,985,625 | 45,429,800 | 44,539,951 | 42,964,659 | +6.3% |
| Rural America | |||||||
| USDA Nonmetro | 7,257,790 | 7,241,318 | 6,068,559 | 6,692,935 | 6,710,999 | 6,538,371 | −9.9% |
| Low Density US | 3,240,341 | 3,002,402 | 2,490,574 | 2,811,577 | 2,829,377 | 2,770,071 | −14.5% |
| USDA Nonmetro NE | 724,486 | 720,810 | 637,245 | 678,030 | 692,103 | 668,169 | −7.8% |
| Low Density NE | 85,518 | 78,393 | 69,921 | 70,631 | 74,782 | 73,652 | −13.9% |
Table 22 shows that the Park Towns’ Late Baby Boom age group saw a −8.8% population loss from 1970 to 2020 from residents leaving the area. While the Park Towns saw an overall population loss in this age group, it still recruited almost 2,000 career age people over age 35 by 2010. The Split Towns gained −2.5%. This period marks a change for rural areas, which all posted population losses, ranging from −7.8% to major losses of −13.9%. All rural areas saw a loss of college-age young people, some modest, others quite severe. While rural areas recruited people after age 35, they never recouped their losses of college-age young people. New York State also continued to lose population.
Figure 84: Population changes in the Late Baby Boom age group (born between 1956 and 1965) in nine study regions from 1970 to 2020
Figure 84 shows in two line graphs the population gains or losses of the Late 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.