Older-age dependency ratio by state

Maine has the highest estimate (39.7 per 100); Utah has the lowest (20.4 per 100). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, 2024.

Data year: 2024Source released Sept. 11, 2025Last updated Oct. 23, 2026GCT0107

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 20.4 per 100 Utah

Highest state estimate 39.7 per 100 Maine

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 30.8 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 Maine 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 age dependency ratio?

These states’ ranks change the most between older-age dependency ratio and age 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	Older-age dependency ratio	Age dependency ratio
New Hampshire	35.4 per 100 · #8	64.3 per 100 · #37
Vermont	38.3 per 100 · #2	67.1 per 100 · #29
Nebraska	29.6 per 100 · #34	70.3 per 100 · #7

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.

Older-age dependency ratio · 2024 · People per 100 working-age residents
Rank	State / jurisdiction	Value	90% margin of error	Difference from previous rank
1	Maine	39.7 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Highest estimate
2	Vermont	38.3 per 100	± 0.5 per 100	Different at 90%
3	West Virginia	37.4 per 100	± 0.3 per 100	Different at 90%
4	Delaware	37.3 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
5	Florida	37.0 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
5	Hawaii	37.0 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
7	Montana	36.3 per 100	± 0.3 per 100	Different at 90%
8	New Hampshire	35.4 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Different at 90%
9	Pennsylvania	34.2 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
10	New Mexico	34.1 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
11	Wyoming	34.0 per 100	± 0.6 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
12	South Carolina	33.4 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
13	Arizona	33.1 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
13	South Dakota	33.1 per 100	± 0.4 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
15	Michigan	32.9 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
15	Wisconsin	32.9 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
17	Oregon	32.7 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
18	Iowa	32.2 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Different at 90%
18	Ohio	32.2 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
20	Rhode Island	32.0 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
21	Connecticut	31.9 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
22	Missouri	31.5 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
23	Alabama	31.1 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
24	New York	31.0 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
25	Arkansas	30.8 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
26	Minnesota	30.7 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
27	Kansas	30.5 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
27	Mississippi	30.5 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
29	Idaho	30.2 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Different at 90%
29	Louisiana	30.2 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
31	Kentucky	30.1 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
31	Massachusetts	30.1 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
33	New Jersey	29.7 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
34	Nebraska	29.6 per 100	± 0.2 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
35	Indiana	29.5 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
35	North Carolina	29.5 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
37	Illinois	29.4 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
38	North Dakota	29.3 per 100	± 0.5 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
39	Tennessee	29.1 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
40	Maryland	29.0 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
41	Virginia	28.8 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
42	Nevada	28.7 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Not distinguishable at 90%
43	Oklahoma	28.4 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
44	Washington	28.0 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
45	California	26.6 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
46	Colorado	26.0 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
47	Georgia	25.6 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
48	Alaska	24.0 per 100	± 0.4 per 100	Different at 90%
49	Texas	22.7 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
50	Utah	20.4 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Different at 90%
Ref.	District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states	18.8 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Reference jurisdiction
Ref.	Puerto RicoNot ranked among states	40.8 per 100	± 0.1 per 100	Reference jurisdiction

50 states plus 2 reference rows.

What this ranking measures

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

People may work beyond age 64; this demographic ratio does not count actual economic dependence.

The size of the gap

The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is 19.3 per 100. The U.S. benchmark is 29.7 per 100. It is not a simple average of the states.

32 states have point estimates above the U.S. benchmark and 17 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 · GCT0107
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. Older-age dependency ratio, 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, GCT0107; released 2025-09-11. Edition 2026-10-23. https://rankthestates.com/data/editions/2026-10-23/older-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.

Age dependency ratio

2024 · Census ACS

74.1 per 100 South Dakota · highest estimate 02

Child dependency ratio

2024 · Census ACS

43.7 per 100 Utah · highest estimate