FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — The latest census figures show that northwest Arkansas skews younger than the rest of the state and the country, but its population of residents 50 and older is also growing.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that about 25 percent of residents in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metropolitan statistical area were under the age of 18, but those above 55 are catching up in population share. The percentage in between is dwindling.
The region in 2016 was home to 120,000 residents 55 or older, a nearly 40 percent increase in the previous decade.
Experts say that longer lifespans, warmer climate and jobs for older people contribute to the area’s rapid growth of the aging population. They say older residents bring their own health and housing needs, and that the region should prepare accordingly.
