New Census Data Shows Enumclaw Age Gap Widening

Enumclaw has seen a decrease in the number of school-aged children while at the same time, the number of middle-aged residents has increased over the last 10 years, according to new Census data released Wednesday night.

The median age of an Enumclaw resident rose from 35.1 in 2000 to 38.9 in 2010.

The number of children under age 19 sat at 3,531, or 31.2 percent of the total city population in 2000; by contrast, that number has dropped to 2,938, or 27.5 percent of the total city population in 2010.

Similarly, the number of households with children under 18 has also decreased from 1,709 or 39.6 percent of total households in 2000, to 1,455  or 32.9 percent of total households in 2010. 

As ,  data from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction indicates that overall enrollment in the Enumclaw School District had been 5,201 in October 2000; it had decreased to 4,757 by October 2009.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are now 2,876 people in Enumclaw in the 45 to 64 age bracket, making up 30 percent of the city population; in 2000, that number was just 2,035, or 18.3 percent. 

In between, the 20 to 34 age bracket has remained steady at 18.1 percent of the population. However, the 35 to 44 age bracket has seen a drop from 1,924 or 17.3 percent of the population to 1,327 or 12.42 percent in 2010.

By the Numbers:

Elsewhere in the State

Washington state got a bit older in the past 10 years, with women continuing to live longer than men. Our households stayed about the same size or shrank slightly, but we had a smaller proportion of children in our homes and a larger proportion of other relatives living with us. And our racial makeup changed as well, with the Indian and Mexican populations growing significantly statewide.

Here’s a look at the numbers:

• In Washington state, the median age was 37.3 in 2010, up from 35.3 in 2000.
• The percentage of males to females was the same, 49.8 percent to 50.2 percent.
• The median age for males was 36.2 and 38.3 for females last year, up from 34.4 for males and 36.3 for females in 2000. 
• The average household size was 2.51 people, nearly flat from 2.53 in 2000.
• The average family size was 3.06, about the same as 3.07 in 2000.

But looking at households, families made up 64.4 percent in 2010, down from 66 percent 10 years ago.

And of those family households, those with their own children under 18 dropped from 32.7 percent to 29.1 percent.

At the same time, the proportion of other relatives living in households jumped considerably. In 2000, the Census counted 236,631 "other relatives" living in all households, or 4 percent of the population. Ten years later, that grew to 349,380, or 5.2 percent -- a 30 percent jump in the proportion.

Our age groups have shifted, too. Children made up smaller percentages of the population in all age groups for the state. For example:

•The percentage of preschoolers shrank slightly, from 6.7 percent in 2000 to 6.5 percent in 2010. The percentage of 5- to 14-year-olds shrank from 14.6 percent to 12.9 percent. And 15- to 19-year-olds shrank from 7.3 percent to 6.9 percent.
Also losing ground was the percentage of 25- to 44-year-olds.

On the growth side, the percentage of 20- to 24-year-olds rose, as did older age groups.

Those 85 and older rose 39 percent, from 84,085 in 2000 to 117,271 last year.

The Census also looked at people’s racial and ethnic backgrounds. Of people who considered themselves one race and Asian, the proportion of people of Indian descent grew the greatest, more than doubling from 23,992, or 0.4 percent of the population, in 2000 to 61,124, or 0.9 percent, last year. Other Asian groups grew more slowly, with the population of Japanese descent actually shrinking, from 35,985, or 0.6 percent, in 2000 to 35,008, or 0.5 percent, in 2010.

Among people who identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, those of Mexican descent grew the most, nearly doubling from 329,934, or 5.6 percent of the population, in 2000 to 601,768, or 8.9 percent, last year.

In King County:

• Median age: 37.1 (2000: 35.7) 
• Males 49.8 percent, females 50.2 (2000: unchanged)
• Median age by gender: males 36.3, females 37.9 (2000: males 34.9, females 36.6)
• Average household size: 2.40 (2000: 2.39)  
• Average family size: 3.05 (2000: 3.03)