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The influx of laborers for the Bakken oil field boom in western N.D.? Is that still going on? (See the "Williston" threads here on C-D forum). The Dakota Indian reservations?
I think it might have more to do with birth rates than young adults moving? If you look at a list of the highest birth rate states it’ll have a striking resemblance to this list. It won’t mirror it exactly, but it’ll be very similar.
Look at this list. Population under 18 years, percent by State.
Least
Vermont 18.5%
Maine 18.7%
New Hampshire 19.0%
Rhode Island 19.4%
Massachusetts 19.8%
Florida 19.9%
West Virginia 20.2%
Connecticut 20.6%
Pennsylvania 20.7%
Oregon 20.8%
New York 20.8%
Least
Vermont 18.5%
Maine 18.7%
New Hampshire 19.0%
Rhode Island 19.4%
Massachusetts 19.8%
Florida 19.9%
West Virginia 20.2%
Connecticut 20.6%
Pennsylvania 20.7%
Oregon 20.8%
New York 20.8%
The U.S. rate is 22.4%.
Just like I said. It looks like from the original list that 7 of 10 for the youngest, and 8 of 10 for the oldest, match this. Some that aren’t on both make sense. California and Colorado make the youngest list while not being on birth rate one, but a lot of young people move to both those states. And New York and Oregon are on the lowest birth rate, but not on the oldest for the same reason.
Youngest States
Utah
Alaska
Texas
North Dakota
Nebraska
Idaho
Oklahoma
California
Kansas
Georgia
Colorado
Oldest States
Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
West Virginia
Florida
Connecticut
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Rhode Island
New Jersey
I think you mean Virginia. Virginia's western counties seceded from the rest of Virginia during the Civil War( 1863 ?) and became the new Union state of West Virginia.
Surprised Kansas is so young since it isn't growing much and it's a pretty white state with little Mormon presence.
It is a rural low population density with a very high level of out-migration, that is why population growth rates are relatively low there. The only county that is growing substantially is Johnson County, a suburb of the Kansas City metro area. Yes, the Hispanic population is younger than the national average, with Finney, Ford, and Seward counties being majority minority. All three are major meat packing counties located in SW Kansas. Wyandotte County (Kansas City, KS) has a high birth rate and Wichita, KS (Sedgwick County) is younger than the national average. The rest of the state minus the college towns and Ft. Riley military installation are very elderly with fast declining populations.
Yes, Kansas and Nebraska are a surprise and it certainly could be due to the hispanic migration. North Dakota is a head scratcher though.
The counties in KS with the youngest populations are Ford, Finney, Seward, and Wyandotte. The first three are rural meatpacking plant dominated places in the middle of nowhere in SW Kansas. Wyandotte County is mostly Kansas City, KS with the remaining two incorporated cities are Bonner Springs and Edwardsville. Wichita, KS, (Sedgwick County), is younger than the national average as well. The rural counties are very elderly with fast declining populations due to farm and ranch consolidation needing fewer workers every year. Oil and gas related energy sector employment is also a small fraction of what occurs in the states south of it like Oklahoma and Texas. Renewable energy development like wind and solar are growth sectors for a number of rural counties, helping with county tax revenues via wind turbine lease payments to landowners.
The US is going to be aging at an even faster rate shortly. Compare 2008 to 2018.
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