The aging baby boomer generation moved the median age of United States residents from 37.5 years to 37.6 years as an estimated 10,000 people each day hit 65, and the youngest of the boomers enter their 50s. Seven states, according to mdjonline.com, however, actually saw their median ago lowered, and five of those are involved in oil and gas exploration—North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Oklahoma. Although the percentage decline is not great, young men seeking work in the oilfields in those states is driving the age down. Williams County, North Dakota, the center of the Bakken shale deposits, saw the largest drop in age in the nation–1.6 years. As MHProNews has reported on numerous occasions, energy exploration is fueling a growth in modular workforce housing and manufactured housing in those states.##

(Photo credit: Associated Press–modular workforce housing, Williston ND)