Aging California: Still 9th youngest state, but youthfulness is crowding our housing

Here’s another reason California housing is so crowded — we’re a young state.

New census data shows the state’s median age in 2018 was 36.8 years. Only eight states were younger.

Yes, that’s up from 35.2 years in 2010, when the state was sixth youngest. And only 10 states aged faster so far in this decade. But note the nation is getting older, too, as the U.S. median age rose by a year to 38.2.

The most youthful state was Utah, with a median age of 31 years. Next came the District of Columbia at 34 years and Alaska at 34.6 years. Most elderly in the U.S. was Maine at 44.9 years, then New Hampshire at 43 and Vermont at 42.8.

The Golden State’s youthfulness on this national scale helps explain certain quirks in our housing markets. When I put this data and another recent census report on housing supply into my trusty spreadsheet, a curious pattern emerged: the young states also pack more people into their housing units.

Growing families can fill up a home and young adults are prone to live with family or roommates. And they don’t call older folks “empty nesters” for no reason. Please consider the demographics of the places at the top and bottoms of these two economically important statistics.

Most-youthful Utah also had the nation’s most densely-packed housing, a residents-per-unit ratio easily linked to the Mormon faith and its preference for larger-than-average families. Conversely, look at Maine, the nation’s oldest state. It has the fewest residents per home in the U.S. — a reflection of a place with limited economic growth that’s become a haven for retirees and vacation homes.

Ninth-youngest California also fits this trend by having the nation’s second-most densely populated housing units. And Texas, the nation’s fourth youngest state, also was No. 4 for residents per unit.

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Or look at it this way: The 10 states with the most-crammed housing had populations that ran three years younger than the 10 states with the fewest people in the typical home.

I’m not using this math to argue that California couldn’t use more housing. But when policymakers and the public weigh the state’s housing issues, don’t simply look national norms.

The Golden State’s youthful — and aging — population may not need as many housing units as we think.

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