Age dependency ratio by state

South Dakota has the highest estimate (74.1 per 100); Colorado has the lowest (58.0 per 100). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, 2024.

Data year: 2024Source released Sept. 11, 2025Last updated Oct. 23, 2026GCT0105

50 ranked states; DC and Puerto Rico appear as reference rows where the source supplies them. Highest does not mean best. Ranks reflect point estimates; close values may not differ statistically.

Lowest state estimate 58.0 per 100 Colorado

Highest state estimate 74.1 per 100 South Dakota

Each dot is a state. The scale runs from the lowest to highest estimate; intervals are not shown here. Read about uncertainty.

State distribution and comparisons

The middle of the 50-state distribution is 67.7 per 100: the average of the 25th and 26th ordered state estimates. This treats each state equally, so it answers a different question from a population-weighted national estimate.

No other state is statistically tied with South Dakota at 90% confidence. Every other state differs from the highest point estimate under this pairwise test. This is not a confidence interval for rank, and testing multiple pairs increases false-positive risk.

See the top ten estimates with their 90% margins of error

Shared axis spans the complete 50-state estimate ± MOE range. Intervals describe individual estimates; overlapping intervals alone are not our significance test.

How does this compare with child dependency ratio?

These states’ ranks change the most between age dependency ratio and child dependency ratio. These comparisons identify different questions worth investigating; a rank gap does not measure a causal effect or a statistical difference between unlike units.

State	Age dependency ratio	Child dependency ratio
Texas	62.4 per 100 · #43	39.7 per 100 · #4
Utah	64.0 per 100 · #39	43.7 per 100 · #1
West Virginia	70.9 per 100 · #4	33.6 per 100 · #39

Inspect these states, definitions and pairwise differences.

The state-by-state view

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Ranked among 50 states; District of Columbia and Puerto Rico shown for reference. Rank 1 = highest value.

Age dependency ratio · 2024 · People per 100 working-age residents
Rank	State / jurisdiction	Value	90% margin of error	Difference from previous rank
1	South Dakota	74.1 per 100	± 0.8 per 100	Highest estimate
2	Delaware	72.3 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Different at 90%
3	Hawaii	71.9 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
4	West Virginia	70.9 per 100	± 0.4 per 100	Different at 90%
5	Montana	70.8 per 100	± 0.5 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
6	Iowa	70.5 per 100	± 0.3 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
7	Nebraska	70.3 per 100	± 0.3 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
8	Wyoming	70.2 per 100	± 1.0 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
9	Idaho	69.8 per 100	± 0.3 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
10	Kansas	69.7 per 100	± 0.3 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
11	Florida	69.5 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
12	New Mexico	69.4 per 100	± 0.4 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
13	Louisiana	69.3 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
14	Maine	69.2 per 100	± 0.3 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
14	Mississippi	69.2 per 100	± 0.4 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
16	Arkansas	69.0 per 100	± 0.3 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
17	South Carolina	68.8 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
18	Ohio	68.7 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
19	Missouri	68.4 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Different at 90%
20	Arizona	68.3 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
21	Minnesota	68.1 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
22	Alabama	68.0 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
23	Pennsylvania	67.9 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
24	Indiana	67.8 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
24	Oklahoma	67.8 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
26	Michigan	67.6 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
26	Wisconsin	67.6 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
28	Kentucky	67.3 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Different at 90%
29	Vermont	67.1 per 100	± 0.6 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
30	North Dakota	66.6 per 100	± 0.8 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
31	New Jersey	65.2 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
32	Tennessee	65.1 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
33	Maryland	65.0 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
34	Connecticut	64.5 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Different at 90%
34	North Carolina	64.5 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
34	Oregon	64.5 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
37	New Hampshire	64.3 per 100	± 0.4 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
38	Illinois	64.2 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
39	Utah	64.0 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
40	New York	63.7 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
41	Virginia	63.6 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
42	Nevada	63.0 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
43	Georgia	62.4 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Different at 90%
43	Texas	62.4 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
45	Alaska	62.1 per 100	± 0.6 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
46	Rhode Island	61.5 per 100	± 0.4 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
46	Washington	61.5 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
48	California	61.0 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
49	Massachusetts	60.5 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
50	Colorado	58.0 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
Ref.	District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states	45.8 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Reference jurisdiction
Ref.	Puerto RicoNot ranked among states	65.7 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Reference jurisdiction

50 states plus 2 reference rows.

What this ranking measures

People under 18 and age 65 or older per 100 people age 18 to 64.

Age is used as a demographic convention. It does not establish whether anyone is employed or financially dependent.

The size of the gap

The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is 16.1 per 100. The U.S. benchmark is 65.2 per 100. It is not a simple average of the states.

30 states have point estimates above the U.S. benchmark and 19 below it, with 1 equal to it. These counts do not establish statistical significance.

How much should you read into a rank?

Each estimate has a 90% margin of error published by the Census Bureau. For two different states, we flag a difference only when its absolute size exceeds the square root of the sum of their squared margins of error. The comparison tool applies this check to every selected pair.

Non-significance is not proof of equality. These pairwise tests are not adjusted for multiple comparisons and do not form ranking confidence intervals. Statistical method and limitations.

Ranks use the full precision of the source file, so only truly equal values share a rank (1, 2, 2, 4).

Keep exploring

Read the ranking methodology.

Explore the same states in a side-by-side comparison, or combine this measure with others in the custom ranking tool.

Source and method

Producer: U.S. Census Bureau
Product / file: ACS 1-year · GCT0105
Period: 2024
Unit: People per 100 working-age residents
Calculation: Published estimate; no transformation of the value. Rank = 1 + number of eligible jurisdictions with a higher value.
Coverage: The 50 states are ranked. Washington, D.C., can be added with the toggle above the table; Puerto Rico is shown for reference only, where the source covers it.
Cadence: Annual. 2025 ACS 1-year estimates scheduled for October 29, 2026 (Census ACS updates page); adoption follows editorial review.
Independence: Rank the States is independent. The agencies that produce the source data do not endorse these rankings.

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Suggested citation

Rank the States. Age dependency ratio, 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, GCT0105; released 2025-09-11. Edition 2026-10-23. https://rankthestates.com/data/editions/2026-10-23/age-dependency-ratio.csv

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Updates and corrections

Last updated Oct. 23, 2026. Earlier editions stay available on the data page, and every change is listed in the update log. If a number or definition looks wrong, report an error with the state, value, and source you checked.

Related rankings

State distributions: each mark is one state, from lowest to highest. Each row uses its own scale.

Child dependency ratio

2024 · Census ACS

43.7 per 100 Utah · highest estimate 02

Older-age dependency ratio

2024 · Census ACS

39.7 per 100 Maine · highest estimate