A new report from the US Census Bureau shows Lexington now has the youngest median age in the country, at just over 22, and Radford and Lynchburg aren’t far behind.
In a report for Cardinal News, editor Dwayne Yancey, who confesses to being a ‘demographic nerd’, also looked at the country’s largest age gap between Virginia’s youngest locality, and its oldest.
Among the biggest surprises in the data, with Lexington, at 22.2, being the youngest place in the US, Radford holds the fifth spot, with a median age of 24.4.
They are two of the five localities in the Commonwealth where the median age is under 30. Lynchburg is fifth on that list, with a median age, with a median age of 28.6. Much of that is likely due to the presence of four four-year schools.
Meanwhile, Highland County is one of the oldest localities country, and the oldest in the Commonwealth, at 59.3.
The older communities are located in the Chesapeake Bay, which are already rural, and have become home to many retirees.
