Montana Breaks Into Top Ten Oldest Populations

Montana is now one of America’s ten oldest states. The median age is 40.8, which surprises many people who see Montana as full of twentysomethings scaling peaks before breakfast. The numbers say otherwise. We are old, and we are old in a hurry.

Just breaking the top 10

The ninth-oldest state on the list is Montana, with a median age of 40.8. That puts us just behind Pennsylvania at 41 and in front of Oregon at 40.7. Most of the top consists of New England states like Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the upper 40s territory. Florida is also near the top of that list, which shouldn’t surprise anyone because it is essentially the country’s retirement home.

Boomers!!

Drive through Missoula, Bozeman, or Billings and you’ll see the change in motion. Yes, each city still has its swarms of college kids buzzing in and around it, but the crowd is changing. More retirees are settling in. Long-time residents are not moving as much. Younger people are fleeing the state for job hunts or cheaper rent. And the balance tips and the average age start going up.

Why is this happening?

States with a more rural population tend to have an older average age. Montana fits that pattern. Add a housing crunch in Bozeman and Missoula, slower job movement in parts of Billings, and all the older residents who never moved away, and the stage is set. Fewer replacements move in. More people age. The math does the rest.

Why you should care

It is at this point that things happen pretty fast in real life. More demand for senior services. More pressure on healthcare. Smaller numbers of young workers in pools for jobs. Schools feel it. Small businesses feel it. And if you are out hunting or fishing, you may have observed that the crowd on the river appears a bit more salt and pepper than someone fresh out of high school.