U.S. population going grayer, less white

The U.S. population will grow older and more diverse over the next four decades, according to new Census Bureau projections presented Thursday at a meeting of demographers.

As the U.S. median age increases, there will be a smaller ratio of workers in the labor force able to pay the payroll tax that funds Social Security payments to people of retirement age. In 15 years, the number of people over age 65 will be larger than the number of children for the first time in U.S. history, according to the presentation at a Southern Demographic Association meeting in New Orleans.

A “demographic tidal wave” known as baby boomers, those born between the end of World War II and 1964, is one big reason for the nation’s expected aging and the eventual drop in natural population increase from births outpacing deaths.

As the U.S. grows older, it also will become more diverse, the projections show.

Although non-Hispanic whites currently are a majority in the U.S., their numbers will dip below 50% of the population in 40 years, declining from 199 million next year to 179 million in 2060, the projections show.

People who identify as two or more races will be the fastest-growing group in the next 40 years. Other fast-growing groups include Asians, whose growth will be driven by migration, and Hispanics, whose growth in the U.S. will be driven by natural increases, according to the projections.

AP/MARK LENNIHAN People walk around the Edge, an outdoor observation deck overlooking New York, during a media tour Thursday. Thrill-seeking visitors in New York’s Hudson Yards neighborhood will be able to get expansive views from the 100-story-high deck early next year.