The Nation - News from May 15, 1986

The U.S. population reached 239,283,000 on July 1, 1985, an increase of 12.2-million people, or 5.4%, from the 227,061,000 counted April 1, 1980, the Census Bureau said. The total population, the bureau said in releasing a formal estimate of changes since the 1980 census, included 122,634,000 women and 116,649,000 men. The median age of Americans--the point where as many are younger as are older--rose from 30 in 1980 to 31.5 in 1985, mainly because the large baby boom generation continued ticking off birthdays, it said. The aging of the baby boomers, those now between 25 and 40, created a sharp increase in that broad category.