New Census Bureau estimates provide further evidence of the graying of Hawai'i, with the state's median age climbing to 37.9 years.

That's almost two years older than at the time of the 2000 census, a "significant" increase, according to Sylvia Yuen, director of the Center for the Family at the University of Hawai'i.

"The Baby Boomers are aging, so they're coming through the pipeline and pulling the median age higher," Yuen said.

Median age represents the age at which half the population is younger and half older.

Nationally, the median age is 36.6 years, according to Census Bureau estimates for July 1, 2007, that were released today.

Hawai'i ranks 13th nationally in terms of highest median age. By comparison, Maine tops the list at 41.6 years and Utah is at the bottom at 28.5 years.

The estimates also show the median age for females in Hawai'i at 39.7 years, compared with 36.3 years for males. Experts attribute the difference to a higher life expectancy for women and other factors.

In the single-race categories, Asians have a median age of 46.4 years, compared with 37.5 years for whites and 32.9 years for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. The median age for those who claimed mixed heritage is 24.4 years.

Sarah Yuan, an expert in aging who works with Yuen at the Center for the Family, explained that Asians generally have a longer life expectancy, possibly due to genetic factors but also because members of that group in Hawai'i also tend to be well-educated and have higher incomes, which translates into better access to healthcare and healthier lifestyles.

The lower median age for Native Hawaiians and other islanders also reflects the fact that those groups generally have larger families with more children, pulling the median age downward.

OLDER POPULATION

The census estimates also show the state's 65-and-older population has increased 1.9 percent annually since 2000, while total population increased 0.8 percent during the same period.

People 65 and older account for 14.3 percent of the state's population of 1.28 million, up from 13.2 percent in 2000. The 85-and-older group comprises 2.3 percent of the population, up from 1.45 percent.

Hawai'i ranks seventh nationally in both categories.

Florida has the highest percentage of people aged 65 and up, at 17 percent, and Alaska the lowest, at 7 percent, the Census Bureau said.

Yuan said society is ill-prepared for the looming needs of its aging population.

"With aging, a lot of people worry about long-term care and having enough services and infrastructure to care for those who are aging and frail. We don't even have that now," she said.

At the other end of the spectrum, Hawai'i's youngest residents, those under age 5, comprise 6.75 percent of the state's population, up slightly from 6.45 percent in 2000.

Utah has the highest percentage of preschoolers, at 9.7 percent, and Vermont the lowest, at 5.2 percent, according to the census figures.

RACIALLY DIVERSE

On the subject of race, Hawai'i retained its title as the most racially diverse state, with a 75 percent "majority-minority." Only three other states and the District of Columbia had more than 50 percent of their population made up of people other than single-race, non-Hispanic whites: the District of Columbia (68 percent), New Mexico (58 percent), California (57 percent) and Texas (52 percent).

Of Hawai'i's melting pot, Asians (alone or in combination with other races) account for 55 percent of the total population, the highest percentage in the country. California ranks second at 13.7 percent.

Whites (alone or in combination with other races) are 42.5 percent of the population; Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (alone or in combination with other races) 21 percent; blacks (alone or in combination with other races) 3.8 percent; and Native American or Native Alaskan (alone or in combination with other races) 1.9 percent, according to the census estimates.

(The sum of the percentages exceeds 100 percent because a person may be counted in more than one racial group.)

The new numbers continue a previously reported increase in the white-alone share of Hawai'i's population, which increased from almost 26 percent from the 2000 census to a little more than 29 percent on July 1, 2007.

In terms of numbers, the white-alone population increased an average of more than 8,300 individuals a year from 2000 to 2007.

At the same time, the data show a decline in the percentage of Asian-alone residents during that period, from 42 percent to 40 percent.

One state official said census claims of an influx of whites and an exodus of Asians are suspect because the calculations are based on Mainland population models.

"We do not have hard numbers to prove that," said Eugene Tian, research and statistics officer for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

In fact, Asians in Hawai'i have higher birth rates than their Mainland counterparts, he said, and Asian migration from foreign countries continues to increase. Those two things would indicate growth in the Hawai'i's Asian population, Tian said.