Youngest County in Every State

January 31, 2017 by Steven M. Peters

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.

Lee County, Alabama

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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Kusilvak Wade Hampton, Alaska

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%

Coconino County, Arizona

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%

washington-county-arkansas

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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Tulare County, California

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%

Alamosa County, Colorado

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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University of Connecticut, Tolland County, Connecticut

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%

Kent County, Delaware

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%

Leon County, Florida

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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Chattahoochee County Georgia

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%

Honolulu County, Hawaii

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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Madison County, Idaho

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%

Champaign-Urbana, Illinois

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%

Tippecanoe County, Indiana

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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Story County, Iowa

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%

Manhattan, Kansas

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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Christian County Kentucky

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%

Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

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%

Lewiston, Maine

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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Baltimore, Maryland

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%

Boston, Massachusetts

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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Isabella County, Michigan

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%

Mankato, Minnesota

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%

Oktibbeha County, Mississippi

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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Pulaski County, Missouri

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%

Big Horn County, Montana

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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Thurston County, Nebraska

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%

Elko County Nevada

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%

Strafford County New Hampshire

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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Hudson County, New Jersey

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%

Roosevelt County New Mexico

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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Tompkins County, New York

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%

Onslow County North Carolina

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%

Selfridge (Sioux County), North Dakota

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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Athena County, Ohio

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%

Payne County, Oklahoma

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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Benton County, Oregon

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%

Centre County, Pennsylvania

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%

Providence County, Rhode Island

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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Richland County, South Carolina

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%

St. Francis (Todd County), South Dakota

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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Montgomery County, Tennessee

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%

Brazos County, Texas

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%

Utah County, Utah

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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Chittenden County, Vermont

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%

Lexington, Virginia

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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Whitman County, Washington

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%

Monongalia County, West Virginia

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%

Menominee County, Wisconsin

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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Albany County, Wyoming

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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