In nearly every county, Oregon is skewing older than it did 15 years ago, particularly in rural parts of the state.
For the first time, the median age topped 50 in six of Oregon's 36 counties, according to 2016 population data the Census Bureau released Thursday. As recently as 2002, no Oregon county had tipped that far toward old age.
The six counties — Gilliam, Grant, Wallowa, Baker, Curry and Lincoln — all lie in Eastern Oregon or on the coast. Young people tend to leave the eastern parts of the state, while coastal counties attract retirees from California and beyond.
Median Age by County in 2016
Darker colors indicate a higher median age. Click on each county to see more detail.
But nearly all parts of the state showed signs of aging. Thirty of 36 counties saw their median age increase a notch from 2000 to 2016. In Thursday's release, the Census Bureau reported population counts in five-year age bands.
Between 2000 and 2016, Benton was the only county where the median age was consistently 35 or younger. Home to Oregon State University, the county's robust student population has kept it as a center of youth.
Oregon's rising median ages tracked the national trend, driven by the Baby Boomer generation, whose oldest members turned 65 in 2011. In every state, the median age either increased or stayed the same from 2015 to 2016.
All three Portland-area counties got older from 2000 to 2016, with the predominance of young 30-somethings giving way to an older vibe -- by about 5 years. In Multnomah and Washington counties, the median age moved from the 30 to 34 range up to 35 to 39. In Clackamas County, the median age was 5 years higher in each of those years.
In Oregon, nearly 689,000 people are older than 65. They make up more than 17 percent of the state's population. Almost 1.5 million Oregonians are older than 50, representing about 35 percent of the state's population.
Nationally, the number of people over 65 grew from 35 million in 2000 to 49.2 million in 2016, up from 12.4 percent of the population to 15.2 percent.
Median Age by County in 2000
--Annie Ma
@anniema15