(The Hill) — Older adults now outnumber children in almost half of the counties in the U.S., new data released Thursday from the Census Bureau shows.

According to a press release, in 2024, about 45 percent of the nation’s more than 3,100 counties reported a greater number of residents aged 65 or older than those under 18. This is a notable rise from four years earlier when only 31.3 percent of the counties had more older adults than children.

Most of the counties with an older population were located outside of the metro or micro areas, the release states.

In general, the population of individuals over 65 years old increased by 3.1 percent from 2023 to 2024, reaching approximately 61.2 million. Conversely, the population of those under 18 years decreased by 0.2 percent over the past year, now around 73.1 million, according to bureau findings.

Since 2004, the proportion of older adults in the U.S. has been gradually increasing, going from 12.4 percent in 2004 to 18 percent last year. Meanwhile, the population of children has been decreasing, falling from 25 percent to 21.5 percent over the same period, as the data indicates.

In 2022, the nation’s median age hit 38.9 — the highest it had been at that point. The median age has also been rising for decades, spiking from 30 in 1980 to 35 in 2000.

The latest numbers come as statistics show women in the U.S. having fewer children. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report showing between 2007 and 2022, the nation’s birth rate fell by nearly 23 percent.

“Children still outnumber older adults in the United States, despite a decline in births this decade,” Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch, said in Thursday’s release. 

“However, the gap is narrowing as baby boomers continue to age into their retirement years,” Bowers added. “In fact, the number of states and counties where older adults outnumber children is on the rise, especially in sparsely populated areas.”

A Census Bureau estimate released in 2023 found that the U.S. population was expected to peak in 2080 and then fall by the end of the century.