Due to continually improved life expectancy, and as baby boomers reach retirement age, the median age of the U.S. population has been steadily increasing. The typical American today is 37.6 years old, nearly 10 years older than the median age in 1970. Despite this trend, many areas in the United States have considerably younger populations.
With data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the median age in all U.S. counties to identify the county in every state with the youngest residents. Lexington, Virginia — an independent city that is equivalent to a county for the purposes of census tracking — is America’s youngest county. The median age in Lexington is only 21.4 years old.
In many of the youngest counties, a large share of residents are students attending college. If the county has a relatively small population, this can dramatically lower the median age. This is the case in Lexington, which has the highest share of residents enrolled in postsecondary education. Of the 7,071 residents, nearly 60% are college students. In 41 states, the share of college students in the youngest county is higher than the share across the state.
Click here to see the youngest county in every state.
When the presence of colleges or a major university is not the explanation for a low median age, high shares of families with young children can often explain the youth of a county’s population.
There are nine counties on this list that have a lower share of college students than their state. Each of these counties has a higher share of children younger than 5 years old than the comparable state figure.
Generally speaking, western and southern states have younger populations than midwestern and northeastern states. Because counties tend to roughly mirror statewide trends, even the youngest county in a state can be relatively old in a national context. For example, in Androscoggin, Maine — the oldest state — the typical resident is 40.6 years old. While this is the lowest median age in the state, it is higher than the median age nationwide.
To determine the youngest county in every state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the median age for all U.S. counties from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey. The share of residents enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, or professional schools, as well as the share of each county’s population under 5 years old also came from the ACS.
These are the youngest counties in every state.
1. Lee County, Alabama
> Median age: 30.3
> State median age: 38.4
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.9%
> Enrolled in college: 19.0%
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2. Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska
> Median age: 23.0
> State median age: 33.4
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 12.6%
> Enrolled in college: 1.0%
3. Coconino County, Arizona
> Median age: 30.8
> State median age: 36.8
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 6.1%
> Enrolled in college: 17.1%
4. Washington County, Arkansas
> Median age: 31.2
> State median age: 37.7
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 7.3%
> Enrolled in college: 12.4%
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5. Tulare County, California
> Median age: 30.3
> State median age: 35.8
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 8.9%
> Enrolled in college: 6.0%
6. Alamosa County, Colorado
> Median age: 30.1
> State median age: 36.3
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 7.4%
> Enrolled in college: 14.6%
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7. Tolland County, Connecticut
> Median age: 38.1
> State median age: 40.4
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 4.1%
> Enrolled in college: 16.1%
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8. Kent County, Delaware
> Median age: 37.0
> State median age: 39.3
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 6.5%
> Enrolled in college: 8.8%
9. Leon County, Florida
> Median age: 30.0
> State median age: 41.4
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.3%
> Enrolled in college: 22.3%
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10. Chattahoochee County, Georgia
> Median age: 23.3
> State median age: 35.9
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 9.4%
> Enrolled in college: 9.6%
11. Honolulu County, Hawaii
> Median age: 36.9
> State median age: 38.0
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 6.6%
> Enrolled in college: 8.2%
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12. Madison County, Idaho
> Median age: 23.2
> State median age: 35.5
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 10.1%
> Enrolled in college: 31.8%
13. Champaign County, Illinois
> Median age: 29.3
> State median age: 37.3
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.6%
> Enrolled in college: 24.4%
14. Tippecanoe County, Indiana
> Median age: 27.9
> State median age: 37.3
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 6.1%
> Enrolled in college: 23.1%
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15. Story County, Iowa
> Median age: 25.9
> State median age: 38.1
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.0%
> Enrolled in college: 31.0%
16. Riley County, Kansas
> Median age: 24.7
> State median age: 36.0
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 6.9%
> Enrolled in college: 28.6%
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17. Christian County, Kentucky
> Median age: 28.5
> State median age: 38.5
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 9.7%
> Enrolled in college: 6.2%
18. Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
> Median age: 27.4
> State median age: 36.1
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.9%
> Enrolled in college: 20.6%
19. Androscoggin County, Maine
> Median age: 40.6
> State median age: 43.8
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 6.1%
> Enrolled in college: 6.8%
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20. Baltimore city, Maryland
> Median age: 34.6
> State median age: 38.2
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 6.7%
> Enrolled in college: 9.5%
21. Suffolk County, Massachusetts
> Median age: 32.2
> State median age: 39.3
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.6%
> Enrolled in college: 15.3%
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22. Isabella County, Michigan
> Median age: 26.3
> State median age: 39.5
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 4.7%
> Enrolled in college: 29.5%
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23. Blue Earth County, Minnesota
> Median age: 30.1
> State median age: 37.7
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.7%
> Enrolled in college: 19.8%
24. Oktibbeha County, Mississippi
> Median age: 25.0
> State median age: 36.5
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.4%
> Enrolled in college: 33.1%
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25. Pulaski County, Missouri
> Median age: 26.8
> State median age: 38.2
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 7.6%
> Enrolled in college: 12.5%
26. Big Horn County, Montana
> Median age: 29.8
> State median age: 39.7
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 10.4%
> Enrolled in college: 3.1%
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27. Thurston County, Nebraska
> Median age: 28.6
> State median age: 36.2
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 9.7%
> Enrolled in college: 3.7%
28. Elko County, Nevada
> Median age: 33.5
> State median age: 37.2
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 7.5%
> Enrolled in college: 4.0%
29. Strafford County, New Hampshire
> Median age: 37.2
> State median age: 42.2
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.2%
> Enrolled in college: 13.2%
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30. Hudson County, New Jersey
> Median age: 34.7
> State median age: 39.4
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 7.0%
> Enrolled in college: 7.5%
31. Roosevelt County, New Mexico
> Median age: 29.4
> State median age: 37.0
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 8.0%
> Enrolled in college: 15.1%
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32. Tompkins County, New York
> Median age: 30.2
> State median age: 38.1
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 4.2%
> Enrolled in college: 28.2%
33. Onslow County, North Carolina
> Median age: 26.1
> State median age: 38.0
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 9.9%
> Enrolled in college: 8.1%
34. Sioux County, North Dakota
> Median age: 27.0
> State median age: 35.4
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 10.8%
> Enrolled in college: 4.2%
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35. Athens County, Ohio
> Median age: 28.0
> State median age: 39.2
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 4.1%
> Enrolled in college: 30.8%
36. Payne County, Oklahoma
> Median age: 27.2
> State median age: 36.2
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.7%
> Enrolled in college: 25.1%
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37. Benton County, Oregon
> Median age: 32.7
> State median age: 39.1
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 4.3%
> Enrolled in college: 23.5%
38. Centre County, Pennsylvania
> Median age: 30.3
> State median age: 40.5
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 4.1%
> Enrolled in college: 25.2%
39. Providence County, Rhode Island
> Median age: 37.1
> State median age: 39.7
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.8%
> Enrolled in college: 9.4%
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40. Richland County, South Carolina
> Median age: 32.7
> State median age: 38.6
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 6.0%
> Enrolled in college: 12.9%
41. Todd County, South Dakota
> Median age: 23.9
> State median age: 36.8
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 13.0%
> Enrolled in college: 4.7%
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42. Montgomery County, Tennessee
> Median age: 30.3
> State median age: 38.4
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 8.6%
> Enrolled in college: 9.3%
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43. Brazos County, Texas
> Median age: 25.2
> State median age: 34.1
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 6.3%
> Enrolled in college: 27.2%
44. Utah County, Utah
> Median age: 24.4
> State median age: 30.1
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 10.4%
> Enrolled in college: 13.2%
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45. Chittenden County, Vermont
> Median age: 36.3
> State median age: 42.4
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 4.9%
> Enrolled in college: 13.3%
46. Lexington city, Virginia
> Median age: 21.4
> State median age: 37.6
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 2.6%
> Enrolled in college: 58.5%
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47. Whitman County, Washington
> Median age: 24.2
> State median age: 37.4
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 4.3%
> Enrolled in college: 39.0%
48. Monongalia County, West Virginia
> Median age: 30.0
> State median age: 41.8
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 4.8%
> Enrolled in college: 24.3%
49. Menominee County, Wisconsin
> Median age: 31.6
> State median age: 39.0
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 9.2%
> Enrolled in college: 2.1%
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50. Albany County, Wyoming
> Median age: 26.6
> State median age: 36.8
> Population under 5 yrs. old: 5.3%
> Enrolled in college: 31.9%
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