The youngest state in the nation is getting older — is Utah prepared for an aging population?

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has long held its standing as the state with the youngest population in the nation, but as fertility rates decline and the adult population continues to age, it may need to make structural changes to see its older folks through their golden years.

The general fertility rate in the United States decreased by 3% from 2022, reaching a historic low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The historic low marked a second consecutive year of decline, with the rate consistently decreasing from 2014 to 2020.

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Despite Western states experiencing strong population gains overall, in part due to migration, the Pew Research Center found that the West experienced the most severe fertility rate drops. Arizona’s and Utah’s declines were more than double that of the 50-state average.

In 1980, fewer than 8% of Utah residents were over 65, but by 2020, that population increased to 12%, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Projections indicate the state’s retirement-age population will likely be more than 20% of Utah’s population by 2060, the report noted.

Lower birth rates and longer lives mean that cities will have to fundamentally change to adapt to a demographic shift by considering factors like mobility, technology integration, health care services and community design. The rapid demographic changes prompted local leaders and experts to discuss the emerging needs and strategies to support an aging population during Salt Lake County’s “Aging in Place” regional solutions event on Wednesday.

Read the full story from KSL.com here.