Diversification provides opportunities for state to retain young people

Wyoming has long struggled with recruiting young people to either stay in or move to the state, and recent data continues to show the median age in the Equality State growing older.

According to the state’s Economic Analysis Division, the median age in Wyoming rose 0.4 to 38.4 years, while it increased from 38.2 to 38.4 during the same period across the U.S., indicating the aging of Wyoming’s population has picked up speed, and the pace was the fastest in the country.

“Though the impact from Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) aging was the main reason, outmigration of young people and decline of fertility rate also played roles,” said Dr. Wenlin Liu, chief economist with the State of Wyoming, Economic Analysis Division, in July 2020. “Ever since the first Baby Boomers turned to 65 years old in 2011, there has been a rapid increase in the size of the older population.”

In addition, since 2010, the population of residents younger than 18 decreased 1.2% where pre-school children (young than 5 years old) declined 13.1% and the 18-64 age group dropped 3.4% during the nine-year span.

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