Statizoid

Median age in United States

United States: Median age was 38.02 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
38.02 years
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
72nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
38.02 years
in 2023
All-time low
26.69 years
in 1969
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Median age in United States, 1950–2023

010203040195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2023, median age in United States stood at 38.02 years. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, median age in United States peaked at 38.02 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 26.69 years, in 1969.

That places United States 72nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Median age in United States, year by year

Year years Change
1950 28.96 years —
1951 28.99 years +0.1%
1952 29.02 years +0.1%
1953 29.03 years +0.0%
1954 29.02 years -0.0%
1955 28.98 years -0.1%
1956 28.91 years -0.3%
1957 28.8 years -0.4%
1958 28.66 years -0.5%
1959 28.47 years -0.6%
1960 28.26 years -0.8%
1961 28 years -0.9%
1962 27.72 years -1.0%
1963 27.46 years -0.9%
1964 27.23 years -0.8%
1965 27.04 years -0.7%
1966 26.9 years -0.5%
1967 26.8 years -0.4%
1968 26.72 years -0.3%
1969 26.69 years -0.1%
1970 26.74 years +0.2%
1971 26.83 years +0.3%
1972 26.95 years +0.5%
1973 27.09 years +0.5%
1974 27.3 years +0.8%
1975 27.59 years +1.0%
1976 27.92 years +1.2%
1977 28.25 years +1.2%
1978 28.55 years +1.1%
1979 28.85 years +1.0%
1980 29.12 years +1.0%
1981 29.38 years +0.9%
1982 29.63 years +0.8%
1983 29.89 years +0.9%
1984 30.16 years +0.9%
1985 30.44 years +0.9%
1986 30.74 years +1.0%
1987 31.04 years +1.0%
1988 31.34 years +1.0%
1989 31.63 years +0.9%
1990 31.9 years +0.9%
1991 32.14 years +0.7%
1992 32.38 years +0.7%
1993 32.61 years +0.7%
1994 32.86 years +0.8%
1995 33.12 years +0.8%
1996 33.38 years +0.8%
1997 33.63 years +0.8%
1998 33.87 years +0.7%
1999 34.09 years +0.7%
2000 34.29 years +0.6%
2001 34.48 years +0.5%
2002 34.67 years +0.6%
2003 34.84 years +0.5%
2004 35.01 years +0.5%
2005 35.17 years +0.5%
2006 35.35 years +0.5%
2007 35.53 years +0.5%
2008 35.69 years +0.4%
2009 35.82 years +0.4%
2010 35.92 years +0.3%
2011 36.01 years +0.2%
2012 36.09 years +0.2%
2013 36.17 years +0.2%
2014 36.27 years +0.3%
2015 36.39 years +0.3%
2016 36.51 years +0.3%
2017 36.65 years +0.4%
2018 36.82 years +0.5%
2019 37 years +0.5%
2020 37.23 years +0.6%
2021 37.47 years +0.6%
2022 37.72 years +0.7%
2023 38.02 years +0.8%

United States compared with similar countries

  • United States's 38.02 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 39.36 years, 97% of the median. (85 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 28.88 years 28.47 years 29.03 years 10
1960s 27.28 years 26.69 years 28.26 years 10
1970s 27.61 years 26.74 years 28.85 years 10
1980s 30.34 years 29.12 years 31.63 years 10
1990s 33 years 31.9 years 34.09 years 10
2000s 35.09 years 34.29 years 35.82 years 10
2010s 36.38 years 35.92 years 37 years 10
2020s 37.61 years 37.23 years 38.02 years 4

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 69 Macao 38.31 years compare
  2. 70 Turks and Caicos Islands 38.3 years compare
  3. 71 Curacao 38.23 years compare
  4. 73 Anguilla 38.01 years compare
  5. 74 Cayman Islands 37.88 years compare
  6. 75 Palau 37.84 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is median age in United States?
Median age in United States was 38.02 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest median age recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 38.02 years in 2023.
What is the lowest median age recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 26.69 years in 1969.
How does United States rank for median age?
United States ranks 72nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is median age rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Median age in United States. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/median-age/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Median age
Unit
years
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Age that divides the population into two halves of equal size — half are younger and half are older.