by Bill Sweet
Reporter Andy Kiersz at Business Insider has been pouring through the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey database. The ACS is a Census-like measure of demographic information about the USA that is published once a year, and the 2013 data just became available.
His post today caught my attention, which was the youngest median population town or village in each state. The winner for the entire United States is right in our backyard: Kiryas Joel, New York.
Kiryas Joel is a village whose residents are primarily Satmar Hasidic, a sect of Orthodox Judaism who seem to generally reject modern, secular culture. Anecdotally, marriages seem to happen relatively young, and families tend to be large, with an average household size of 5.7 twice as high as the New York State average of 2.6, which is the cause of the low median age.
The effect that Kiryas Joel has on the region, particularly with regard to social services, is profound. According to a 2013 report, a full 93% of the village's population either receives Medicaid or the Medicaid-funded Family Health Plus. Due to the high birth rate, the village continues to grow exponentially as well, with the population expanding at a rate of about 3-4% per year.
Much of the developed world, meanwhile, is experiencing a slowing birth rate, as wealthier and more educated populations tend to produce less children at a young age. This has a very serious economic impact in the extreme cases (see Japan, China).
Thus, as much as Kiryas Joel skews demographics today, it looks like it will yield a greater influence going forward as its population continues to grow, particular in relation to slowing trends elsewhere in Orange County and New York.
- Bill
