Median age and Per capita income
Where Median age is higher, Per capita income tends to be higher. The link is moderate: +0.47 across 3,197 counties, on a scale from −1 (opposite) to +1 (in step). That figure compares places with the same population density, income and education, so those differences can't explain it. It holds inside states too. Measured separately within each of 41 states, the middle value of the link is -0.02.
Holds after adjusting
Every place, plotted
One dot for each place reporting both measures. Hover over or tap a dot to see its name and values. The thin line is the straight line that best fits the dots. The bold line, shown for counties, is the link after adjusting for density, income and education. A dot far from the lines is a place that does not follow the pattern.
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What each measure is
Median age
The middle age of the county: half the residents are older and half are younger. The typical county is 41.5, and four in five are between 36 and 49. The extremes come from one big group of residents, such as retirees or students: 68.9 in Loving County, Texas and 68.4 in Sumter County, Florida, against 21.4 in Madison County, Idaho, where a university sets the middle age. Since it is a middle value, county figures cannot be averaged into a state figure.
Census ACS 5-year · ACS table B01002_001
Per capita income
All the money income in the area divided by everyone who lives there, children included. It is an average, so a few high earners pull it up, unlike the middle household income.
Census ACS 5-year · ACS table B19301_001
Highest and lowest
Where each measure is highest and lowest among the places reporting both (2023), with the other measure beside it. This is shown for every size of place where both are published. Metro-area values are added up from their counties. A measure that cannot be added up across counties, such as a middle value (median), has no metro figure. Counts are shown per 1,000 residents, since raw totals would only list the largest places. Cities and towns and ZIP codes are shown where the Census survey or the CDC publishes them; most other sources stop at the county. They are shown for places of 5,000 residents or more, and only where the survey’s margin of error is small enough for the figure to be usable. The CDC publishes its health estimates for cities in a version adjusted for age, so places with older or younger people can be compared fairly, but not for ZIP codes.
Counties
By median age
| Median age | Per capita income | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | ||
| Sumter County, FL | 68.4 years | $46,555 |
| Kenedy County, TX | 65.5 years | $31,183 |
| Catron County, NM | 62.6 years | $29,980 |
| Terrell County, TX | 60.9 years | $35,603 |
| Charlotte County, FL | 60 years | $40,603 |
| Lowest | ||
| Madison County, ID | 21.4 years | $23,024 |
| Lexington city, VA | 22.5 years | $30,839 |
| Radford city, VA | 23 years | $25,220 |
| Kusilvak Census Area, AK | 23.6 years | $16,657 |
| Chattahoochee County, GA | 23.9 years | $26,920 |
By per capita income
| Median age | Per capita income | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | ||
| Pitkin County, CO | 47.3 years | $105,100 |
| New York County, NY | 38.9 years | $94,922 |
| Marin County, CA | 47.3 years | $90,408 |
| San Francisco County, CA | 39.7 years | $90,285 |
| Arlington County, VA | 35.5 years | $88,024 |
| Lowest | ||
| Vieques Municipio, PR | 46.3 years | $9,346 |
| Adjuntas Municipio, PR | 44.2 years | $9,457 |
| Guánica Municipio, PR | 45.8 years | $9,705 |
| Las MarÃas Municipio, PR | 44.5 years | $9,744 |
| Jayuya Municipio, PR | 43.2 years | $9,779 |
States
By median age
| Median age | Per capita income | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | ||
| Maine | 44.8 years | $42,035 |
| Puerto Rico | 44.2 years | $16,794 |
| New Hampshire | 43.2 years | $50,867 |
| Vermont | 43 years | $44,365 |
| West Virginia | 42.7 years | $32,949 |
| Lowest | ||
| Utah | 31.7 years | $39,240 |
| District of Columbia | 34.9 years | $75,253 |
| Texas | 35.5 years | $39,446 |
| Alaska | 35.6 years | $44,928 |
| North Dakota | 35.7 years | $42,474 |
By per capita income
| Median age | Per capita income | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | ||
| District of Columbia | 34.9 years | $75,253 |
| Massachusetts | 40 years | $56,284 |
| Connecticut | 41.2 years | $54,409 |
| New Jersey | 40.1 years | $53,118 |
| Maryland | 39.3 years | $51,689 |
| Lowest | ||
| Puerto Rico | 44.2 years | $16,794 |
| Mississippi | 38.4 years | $30,529 |
| West Virginia | 42.7 years | $32,949 |
| Arkansas | 38.4 years | $33,147 |
| Louisiana | 37.8 years | $34,211 |
Metro areas — Median age is not published for metro areas
By per capita income
| Median age | Per capita income | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | ||
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | — | $75,895 |
| Nantucket, MA | — | $72,733 |
| Los Alamos, NM | — | $72,684 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | — | $72,306 |
| Vineyard Haven, MA | — | $71,014 |
| Lowest | ||
| Lares, PR | — | $10,871 |
| Utuado, PR | — | $10,916 |
| Coco, PR | — | $12,533 |
| Guayama, PR | — | $12,987 |
| Ponce, PR | — | $13,325 |
Cities and towns
By median age
| Median age | Per capita income | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | ||
| Leisure World CDP, MD | 76.9 years | $58,606 |
| Desert Palms CDP, CA | 76.2 years | $57,637 |
| Laguna Woods city, CA | 75 years | $54,008 |
| Sun City West CDP, AZ | 74.9 years | $51,788 |
| Pelican Bay CDP, FL | 73.8 years | $153,170 |
| Lowest | ||
| Kiryas Joel village, NY | 15.1 years | $12,973 |
| Monsey CDP, NY | 15.6 years | $15,474 |
| New Square village, NY | 15.8 years | $10,882 |
| Kaser village, NY | 15.9 years | $9,137 |
| Lakewood CDP, NJ | 17.3 years | $17,984 |
By per capita income
| Median age | Per capita income | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | ||
| Palm Beach town, FL | 69.7 years | $211,810 |
| Atherton town, CA | 49 years | $203,140 |
| Highland Park town, TX | 45.6 years | $187,200 |
| Scarsdale village, NY | 41.4 years | $181,920 |
| Cherry Hills Village city, CO | 47.9 years | $176,850 |
| Lowest | ||
| Binghamton University CDP, NY | 19.5 years | $2,240 |
| Clemson University CDP, SC | 19.3 years | $4,362 |
| California Polytechnic State University CDP, CA | 19.2 years | $5,540 |
| Stony Brook University CDP, NY | 19.9 years | $6,166 |
| Notre Dame CDP, IN | 20.2 years | $7,117 |
ZIP codes
By median age
| Median age | Per capita income | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | ||
| ZIP 92637 (Laguna Woods city, CA) | 75 years | $54,008 |
| ZIP 85375 (Sun City West CDP, AZ) | 74.8 years | $51,752 |
| ZIP 32162 (The Villages CDP, FL) | 74.2 years | $53,329 |
| ZIP 85622 (Pima County, AZ) | 73.1 years | $55,564 |
| ZIP 85351 (Sun City CDP, AZ) | 72.6 years | $41,321 |
| Lowest | ||
| ZIP 08701 (Ocean County, NJ) | 18.2 years | $22,163 |
| ZIP 55455 (Minneapolis city, MN) | 18.9 years | $5,450 |
| ZIP 22807 (Harrisonburg city, VA) | 18.9 years | $3,759 |
| ZIP 48109 (Ann Arbor city, MI) | 19.1 years | $38,625 |
| ZIP 93410 (California Polytechnic State University CDP, CA) | 19.2 years | $4,612 |
By per capita income
| Median age | Per capita income | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | ||
| ZIP 10007 (New York city, NY) | 33.8 years | $209,000 |
| ZIP 10282 (New York city, NY) | 39.4 years | $207,030 |
| ZIP 94027 (Atherton town, CA) | 49.1 years | $203,240 |
| ZIP 94105 (San Francisco city, CA) | 34.3 years | $196,160 |
| ZIP 33480 (Palm Beach town, FL) | 69.4 years | $194,910 |
| Lowest | ||
| ZIP 32816 (University CDP, FL) | 19.2 years | $1,570 |
| ZIP 13902 (Binghamton University CDP, NY) | 19.5 years | $2,240 |
| ZIP 33620 (Tampa city, FL) | 19.3 years | $2,713 |
| ZIP 79406 (Lubbock city, TX) | 19.2 years | $2,722 |
| ZIP 32612 (Gainesville city, FL) | 19.2 years | $2,878 |
Counties furthest from the pattern
Compared with the straight line that best fits all 3,219 counties: the five with far more per capita income than their median age would suggest, and the five with far less.
| Median age | Per capita income | |
|---|---|---|
| Above the line | ||
| Pitkin County, CO | 47.3 years | $105,100 |
| New York County, NY | 38.9 years | $94,922 |
| San Francisco County, CA | 39.7 years | $90,285 |
| Marin County, CA | 47.3 years | $90,408 |
| Arlington County, VA | 35.5 years | $88,024 |
| Below the line | ||
| Vieques Municipio, PR | 46.3 years | $9,346 |
| Adjuntas Municipio, PR | 44.2 years | $9,457 |
| Guánica Municipio, PR | 45.8 years | $9,705 |
| Las MarÃas Municipio, PR | 44.5 years | $9,744 |
| Ciales Municipio, PR | 45.4 years | $9,927 |
Two series, one county
Both measures over time for a county you pick. The two charts are stacked, so they share only the years along the bottom. You can pick from the thirty largest counties reporting both. This panel covers 2010–2024, and a measure published only once shows as a single dot.
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Every version of the link
Each row measures the same link, from −1 to +1, in a different way. If the rows mostly agree, the link does not depend on one choice of method.
| Before adjusting for anything | +0.078 | 3,197 counties reporting both |
| After adjusting for density, income and education | +0.470 | the part of the link that is not just how urban, rich and educated a place is |
| Also adjusting for population size | +0.478 | size taken out as well as density |
| Also comparing only within each state | +0.521 | each county is compared only with others in its own state, so this is no longer a comparison between states |
| Giving bigger counties more weight | +0.439 | the adjusted link for the average resident rather than the average county. With this weighting, the data counts for about 292 equally weighted counties |
| Middle value inside single states | -0.019 | the link worked out inside each of 41 states with at least 20 counties reporting |
| Using ranks, after adjusting | +0.461 | uses each county’s rank, not its value, so a few extreme counties cannot create the link |
How much to believe it
Could it be chance?
The p-value is the chance of seeing a link this strong if there were really none. A value of 0.05 or less means the link is unlikely to be chance. Very small values are written in short form: 3.1e-16 means 0.00000000000000031, and the bigger the number after “e-”, the smaller the value. Treating every county as a separate case gives p = 1.8e-175. But counties in the same state tend to resemble each other, so the better figure allows for that: p = 6.2e-16. The site tested 20,910 pairs, and testing so many turns up some flukes. The q-value allows for that too. For this pair it is 1.9e-174.
Do nearby places look alike?
Moran’s I measures how much nearby places look alike: 0 means no map pattern, and higher means neighbours are more similar. For the part of each county that the adjustment leaves unexplained, it is +0.18 (p = 0.001). That unexplained part still clusters on the map. So some regional factor shared by both measures is not accounted for.
Did they change together?
The figures above compare counties at one moment. This asks a different question: where median age rose most, did per capita incomemove too? Each county’s change is compared with the average change in its own state. That takes out ups and downs that hit a whole region at once. Each change is the gap between two estimates that both contain some error. That error pulls these links towards zero, so a weak one is weak partly for that reason. The q column shows whether a link could be a fluke, allowing for the many pairs tested: 0.05 or less means it is unlikely to be chance.
| Period | Counties | Change together | Within states | q |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2019 the main test: each Census survey figure averages five years, and these two do not overlap; before the pandemic | 3,206 | +0.21 | +0.19 | — |
| 2019–2023 a repeat check: its two five-year survey figures both include 2019, and it covers the COVID years | 3,207 | +0.25 | +0.22 | — |
Both come from the American Community Survey, which asks a sample of households. Random error in a county's sample pushes both changes at once. So part of any agreement here is that shared error. It is shown, but not counted as a finding. How change is measured.
Related pairs
- Median age and Share aged 65 and over — +0.93
- Median household income and Per capita income — +0.77
- Median age and Share never married — -0.59
- Homeownership rate and Median age — +0.58
- Per capita income and Share with a bachelor's degree or higher — +0.54
- Median age and Share widowed — +0.53
- Median age and People per tax return — -0.49
- Gini index of income inequality and Per capita income — +0.46
Association only. Nothing here shows that either measure changes the other. This describes counties, not the people in them. Two measures going together across places does not mean the same people have both. How the US county data works · Explore Median age and Per capita income