Demographers say the trend is twofold. Baby boomers are getting older, resulting in a natural bulge in the 55-to-64-year-old range. And overall longevity and increased access to health care are causing the 80-plus group to live longer.
"The population trend increase for baby boomers is a trend that's occurring nationally and is to be expected," said Joseph DeMattos Jr., senior state director for the AARP. "The 85-year-old-and-plus boom is a nationwide trend as well. All of these trends are related to earlier birth rates and a longevity bonus relative to how long people are living."
"What's interesting about the boomers specifically is that their life is all about security, independence and engagement," he said. "They've redefined what it means to be older in America."
State officials say they are monitoring the figures closely.
"What you're starting to see is the impact of the aging of the population," said Ilene W. Rosenthal, deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Aging. "We know it's going to have a big impact on the things we do. We are looking at different ways to keep people engaged in community life and to extend their labor-force participation."
The census data also reveal a continuing trend of the non-Hispanic white population remaining steady or decreasing, while minority groups increase.
In Baltimore County, for example, there were about 4 percent fewer white residents in 2007 compared with 2000, while the black population has grown more than 28 percent.
"Just in terms of sheer numbers, Baltimore County had the largest increase in the African-American population in the state," said Mark Goldstein, an economist with the Maryland Department of Planning.
And across the region, Hispanics - defined as an ethnicity, not a race - have seen spikes in numbers.
"In some counties the growth in the non-Hispanic white population is stopping and starting to decline," said Goldstein. "All the growth is a function of minority growth."
Goldstein said that the largest increase in median age in the state occurred in Howard County, which aged 2.4 years between 2000 and 2007. "The population is aging, that's clear," he said. "It's aging more rapidly in Howard County among the six jurisdictions in the Baltimore region.
"You had all the suburban growth in the '70s and '80s and '90s," he said. "So a lot of this aging that you're seeing now is an aging in place."
