Interactive: How Do Americans Differ by Age?

The human experience changes dramatically over the course of a lifetime.

While we each intrinsically know that our days as teenagers will be vastly different from those as senior citizens, it is interesting to see how this looks from a 10,000-foot perspective.

Using demographic data on the American populace, we can spot key differences between age groups, including some aspects that make each generation of Americans unique.

The U.S. Population, by Age

Today’s interactive data visualization comes to us from Overflow Data, and it charts out the entire U.S. population by age group.

The graphic allows you to sort demographics based on data pertaining to specific topics—such as whether people own or rent their house—to see how age affects answers to these different questions. The interactive visualization also allows you to filter results by geographic region, sex, marital status, or employment status.

Data here comes from the 2017 Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) via the American Community Survey, which is published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Gauging Differences

Let’s dive into how American differ by age, by looking at some specific charts:

Employment Status, by Age

This is a simple one to start with, but it makes it easy to see how the data works. In the below chart, it’s evident that most younger and older Americans are not in the labor force, while the majority of working age Americans are employed or seeking work (unemployed).

Own or Rent, by Age

How about looking at whether Americans own or rent, or even if they live in a group quarters?

Race, by Age

The below chart is sorted by percentile, and it shows the percentage of individuals by race according to their age group. As the population skews younger, so does its racial diversity.

Marital Status, by Age

The below chart is sorted by percentile, and it shows the marital status (married, divorced, etc.) of different age groups.

The Generational Effect

For more on how Americans differ by age, learn about how different generations approach the workplace, as well as how they think about investing.