Of the major races and ethnicities in the US, Hispanics are by far the youngest on average, according to new figures released by the US Census Bureau. A whopping 40.1% of Hispanics were under 21 years old in 2011 – compared to 28.6% of the population as a whole. In fact, the median age of a Hispanic American in 2011 was 27, almost 10 years younger than the median 36.8 for the overall population. The “white alone” population counted as the oldest – with 40.2% aged 45 or older.
Looking more closely at the Hispanic population, the data reveals that almost 3 in 10 were aged under 15 last year, while a plurality (37%) were aged 21-44. Just 21.9% were aged 45 or older. These figures align with recent survey results from Scarborough Research, which found Millennials 49% more likely than the average to identify themselves as Hispanic.
1 in 3 Blacks Aged 21-44
The “black alone” population is the second-youngest in the US, according to the Census Bureau figures. A plurality (33.8%) are in the 21-44 bracket, while the proportion aged under 15 and 45-64 are almost exactly the same (23.7% and 23.8%, respectively). The median age of the “black alone” population in 2011 was 31.7.
The “Asian alone” population in 2011 skewed older, second only to the “white alone” segment. The former actually had a greater share older than 21 (73.3% vs. 72.8%), but the “white alone” population had an older median age (38.6 vs. 36) on account of having a larger share 45 or older.
Women Generally Older Than Men
One trend that stands firm across all races and ethnicities is the higher median age for women. For the American population as a whole in 2011, the median age for women was 38.1, compared to 35.5 for men, about a 2-and-a-half year gap.
That gap was widest in the “black alone” population. This segment had a median age of 33.5 for women, and a median of 29.6 for men – a gap of almost 4 years. Among Hispanics, the gap was just 1 year (27.6 vs. 26.6), while for the “white alone” population the gap was right at the population average (though the ages were different: 39.6 v. 37). Among Asians, the median age for women (37) was about 2 years older than for men (34.8).
