ATLANTA — The economy may well be the best form of birth control. U.S. births dropped for the third straight year — especially for young mothers — and experts think money worries are the reason.
WASHINGTON — Rural America now accounts for just 16 percent of the nation’s population, the lowest ever. The latest 2010 census numbers hint at an emerging America where, by midcentury, city boundaries become indistinct and rural areas grow ever less relevant. Many communities could shrink to virtual ghost towns as they shutter businesses and close down schools, demographers say.
Women still outlive men, but the gender gap among U.S. seniors is narrowing. New 2010 census figures, released Thursday, show men are reducing women’s population advantage, primarily in the 65-plus age group. It’s a change in the social dynamics of a country in which longevity, widowhood and health care for seniors often have been seen as issues more important to women.