Newswise — Between 2014 and 2064, the Kansas population is expected to increase from 2,904,321 to 3,538,277, a 21.8 percent increase, according to a forecast released by the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University. This represents an average annual increase of 0.4 percent over the next four or five decades, which is slower than the 0.6 percent expected growth rate for the United States for that same period, as projected by the U.S. Census - National Population Projections.

Twenty of Kansas' 105 counties are projected to have increases in population, while the other 85 are projected to have population declines from 2014 to 2064. Kansas metropolitan areas are projected to have increased to 80.2 percent of the total population by 2064, up from 69.1 percent in 2014.

The Kansas' working-age population is projected to increase by 10.3 percent, while the state's population that is older than 65 years old is forecast to approximately double during the next 50 years. The Kansas youth population is projected to increase by 1.5 percent, considerably slower than the state's working age and retired population groups. In 2034, the population of Kansas residents older than age 65 is forecast to exceed the population of those younger than 18 for the first time in state history.

Population projections are available by age and gender cohort from 2014 to 2064 for every Kansas county. View the detailed data for the Kansas Population Forecast at http://www.population.cedbr.org.

# # # # #Contact: Jeremy Hill, Director W. Frank Barton School of Business Center for Economic Development and Business Research, 316-213-3673 or [email protected].