Definition
The percentage of persons in each age group.Numerator
Number of persons in age group.Denominator
Total population size.Data Interpretation Issues
Because many diseases, such as cancer and heart disease, are less common among younger persons, Utah's population is healthier than the U.S. population. In order to remove the "age effect," health data are often age adjusted for presentation in reports.Why Is This Important?
People's age, sex, culture, and living and working conditions affect their health in important ways that must be considered in planning for the public health of the population. Having a large percentage of the population made up of young children emphasizes the importance of making available key preventive health measures (e.g. immunizations) and age-appropriate screenings to identify developmental delays at a time when treatment is most effective.How Are We Doing?
Utahns, on a percentage basis, are on average younger than the rest of the U.S. population. According to the Census Bureau's 2016 American Community Survey, Utah had the youngest state population in the U.S. with a median age of 30.7 years versus 37.9 years nationally.How Do We Compare With the U.S.?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau Population Division, in 2016 30.2% of Utah's estimated population were under age 18, compared with 22.8% of the total U.S. population.
