Getting On: An aging population is transforming Vermont

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont is aging rapidly. Its median age has jumped from 37 to 43 in just two decades, making it the third-oldest state, behind only Maine and then New Hampshire. The number of Vermonters 65 and older has nearly doubled over that same period. They now outnumber children and, by 2030, will comprise close to 25 percent of the population.

Fewer young people in the workforce will make it harder to replace retiring workers and could imperil the overall growth and competitiveness of the state’s economy. That will put the squeeze on state finances at a time when more seniors need support.

Darren Perron spoke with Seven Days’ Colin Flanders, who wrote about the issue as part of the newspaper’s yearlong series, “This Old State.”