WEST VIRGINIA A STATE OF OLD FOLKS

(04/23/2005)

West Virginia is haven for "old folks?" An analyst with the D.C.-based think tank, the Brookings Institute, says the State of West Virginia is a victim of "extreme aging." Their demographer William Frye says the population of people over 65 in West Virginia will double between now and the year 2030 in the Mountain State. They're using the latest U.S. Census numbers that put West Virginia in the category of 26 total states in the country which will age in that time. "Not only is the existing population getting older but the younger parts of the population are decreasing," says Frye. In the next 25 years, the under-18 population is expected to go down by one-fifth, while the population of people 65 and older goes up by 50 percent. Frye says the numbers can be taken a couple of different ways. "You can focus on this particular age group over time, and a lot of these older people are going to be what I call 'yuppie elderly.' I mean, these are people that are in their 60s and 70s, and they're still in pretty good health, they have disposable incomes," says Frye. By 2030, the median age in West Virginia is expected to be 47. But he says there are also some indications that trend could shift with many of the benefits of living in West Virginia, including lower housing costs, drawing more people to the State.

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