U.S. South Gains Children From 2020 to 2025 as Median Age Rises to 39.4
Updated
Updated · WBAL TV Baltimore · Jun 29
U.S. South Gains Children From 2020 to 2025 as Median Age Rises to 39.4
2 articles · Updated · WBAL TV Baltimore · Jun 29
Summary
Census estimates show the South was the only U.S. region where the under-18 population grew between 2020 and July 1, 2025; child populations fell in the Northeast, Midwest and West.
The region also posted the biggest gains across other age groups and was the only one with any increase in residents aged 45 to 64, underscoring how broader population growth is concentrated in the South.
Texas dominated county-level child-population shifts: the largest increases were in counties outside Dallas and Houston, while Loving County recorded the steepest under-18 decline.
Nationally, the median age reached 39.4 in 2025, up from 39.2 a year earlier, and more than two-thirds of the 927 metro and micro areas aged further from 2020 to 2025.