Idaho is aging faster than the rest of the U.S.

The Idaho Department on Labor reported last year that Idaho was aging faster than the rest of the country. Since then, the disparity has widened.

When the Idaho Department of Labor wrote its report last year, Idaho had outpaced the country in the percentage growth of senior citizens 24 percent to 18 percent since 2010. Today, the number of Idahoans over the age of 65 has grown by 30 percent since 2010 while the number of senior citizens around the country has grown by 22 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Idaho Department of Labor.

Idaho’s overall population grew by 1.8 percent last year, or more than 30,000 people, and senior citizens made up a larger percentage of that growth than any other age cohort, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.

The number of Idaho residents over the age of 65 increased by 11,576 between July 2015 and July 2016 while the number of Idaho residents under the age of 19 increased by about 4,800. The number of those between the ages of 40 and 64 increased by about 5,400, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.

Young adults between the ages of 20 and 39 experienced the second-largest number increase of all the cohorts, 8,570. But even though young adults kept close pace with senior citizens in 2016, they have trailed far behind seniors since 2010 – growing by 27,176 individuals compared to 58,815, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.

There are several reasons Idaho is aging so quickly. Kevin Cahill, project director at ECONorthwest, said retirees and older workers have moved to Idaho in search of specific employment and a low cost of living. The Department of Labor said Idaho’s changing demographics – particularly its growing Hispanic population, which has grown by 18 percent since 2010 – is causing Idaho’s median age to increase. Idaho’s minority populations are aging at a rate nearly twice as fast as the state as a whole.

Idaho’s aging could have a negative effect on the local economy if the labor market remains tight as more Idahoans enter retirement over the next several years, but it could also bring some benefits. A new report by the Kauffman Foundation found that people over the age of 55 are significantly more likely to start and own their own business than those below the age of 34.