WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – You’re not imagining it if you think you see more older people than kids in our area.

New data shows that the number of people over 65-years-old surpassed the number of those 18 and under in Whatcom County for the first time last year.

Four other counties also flipped those numbers last year and now a majority of the state’s counties have more people of retirement age than children.

The Seattle Times poured over the latest data from the Census Bureau and found that there are still more children than adults over 65 in Washington.

But the two age groups are trending in the opposite direction.

The number of kids in the state decline by more than 42,000 from 2020 to 2024, while the number of older adults grew by almost 160,000.

And Census Bureau numbers show it’s also a nation trend as more baby boomers reach their retirement years.