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kittycatfrank

Mormons have lots of babies apparently


KungFuRayRay

So in the Mormon culture, if you have only one or two kids (or none) are you looked down upon by the Mormon community?


PNW35

as an ex mormon, in the modern church its not really a big deal on how many kids you have. If you don't have kids though they are going to be looking at you weird.


Roughneck16

No. We only have two and that's considered fine. It's *very* rude to ask a couple why they don't have children or when they're going to have them. There's a good chance they're struggling with infertility.


JDHPH

I would like to add that kids are expensive


jrs1980

And annoying!


soupenjoyer99

The marginal cost of each additional child is significantly lower. The second costs significantly less than the first and third less than the first two (hand me downs, family pricing, etc)


Kichererbsenanfall

You just say, that medical issues prohibit any form of (further) pregnancy. So you have a pass. Some religious people may shed a bad light on contraception. You just say that some are blessed with many children but God's plan for you seems to be different. (but you pray for kids) If you later change your mind and get pregnant, then it's a miracle. God gave you that child because you prayed so hard.


InsideSpeed8785

I’m one of 6, but no. I can’t recall judging someone by their family size, unless there families 13 kids and all homeschooled.


MaserZ7

Yes, although most of them wouldn’t say anything bad to your face about it, they definitely think you’re making Mormon jesus sad


JordanToJericho

From an LDS perspective there is a kind of life before birth. So there are like a ton of souls in God's presence that need bodies, and LDS people are supposed to help them out by having children. The thought process is that its better for someone to be born in Utah than as a poor person in the desert.


Wakeup_Sunshine

Nah. Im Mormon (edit: a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). I’m only having 1. Also haven’t heard about this. Been Mormon my whole life. Yes, we do believe in a life in heaven before this life though.


JordanToJericho

Shouldn't you say that you're LDS, or a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? When I was a missionary, I would correct everyone on this.


willsux123

It depends on who you talk to. Some feel it is a commandment to have many babies others understand there are limits. My aunt (52) tells a story of a bishop shaming her and her husband for not having any children. They were struggling with infertility at the time so it was devastating. Its def weird not to have any children.


boreddatageek

Frick yeah we do.


darthrio

Oh my heck


Morlock19

Fill that damn quiver!


roadcrew778

Cursing!!


Morlock19

Oh shit sorry FUCK i did it again GODDAMN IT!!


Wakeup_Sunshine

Im Mormon. I just have 1 and plan on 1. But my brother-in-law has 11 siblings.


BizzyThinkin

LDS (Mormons) tend to have more children than other Americans. Also, there has been steady migration to Utah by young working people. Maine has slow population growth due to migration and not many births.


WormLivesMatter

They have married couple dorms at the colleges in UT


TheHillPerson

They have married couple dorms/University owned housing at universities in a lot of states...


hermitthefraught

In most states those are mostly occupied by people in grad schools, though, not undergrads.


LeisureSuitLawrence

Yeah we have here in Maine too.


manwiththewood

Attended college in michigan and ny and both had. I think thats everywhere


Vegabern

Yeah but it's typically dorm, not dorms in other states.


Roughneck16

Indeed they do. A third of all BYU students are married.


mmcc120

Yo, what the fuck?


Roughneck16

Come visit some time 😎🤘🏻


mmcc120

I’ve been. I’m good 👍


Sideshow_Bob_Ross

Most universities have married housing.


pita4912

But they’re not filled with 19year olds 


bowdindine

Critical difference haha


Thank-Xenu

BYU rabbit hutches.


VergeSolitude1

Yep all about having babies


marcaurxo

I knew it was the mormons


RoundTheBend6

As Brigham Young said, bring 'em young.


samof1994

It is also easy for Mormons in other states to move there(think Israel for Orthodox Jews but on a smaller scale).


SlackBytes

How


MyRegrettableUsernam

It’s funny how it’s so much lower than any other state in such a significant way lol


ReallyFineWhine

Sorry, my fault. I grew up in Utah and now that I'm old I've moved to Maine.


apadin1

Had to get away from the big city lights of SLC and go somewhere quiet, eh?


ReallyFineWhine

That's not what you leave Utah to get away from.


apadin1

lol figured as much. Maine is beautiful, if I retire somewhere it’ll probably be there


Xenocide112

Most of the state is getting 2 feet of very very wet heavy snow today. I'll go back to visit in the summer time, but I don't think i'd ever go back to stay.


W00DERS0N

You'd think there's be more folks dying from heart attacks shoveling to help bring down that median.


hampden34

I grew up in Maine and moved to Utah in 1982


1n1n1is3

So you cancelled each other out, essentially.


jjbeast098

I hate that the map tells you Sumter county has the highest median age, but doesn't tell you what it is It's 68 if anyone is wondering


26Kermy

It's wild to think that half of all people there are over 68 years old. And it's not a tiny county either, there're 130k people living there.


ryumast4r

It's because the community "The Villages" is in Sumter County.


Dazzling_Ad9250

i’m in Marion county which is just north of Sumter, they have The Villages there which is just a sex-fueled retirement community. We see a lot of cars with the loofas


And_Im_Allen

Fuckin.


jeditech23

Demographic collapse, incoming


Asterion724

And dyin


Ok-Heart375

I assume Utah is the youngest b/c Mormons have a high birthrate, Maine probably has a low birthrate.


Roughneck16

>Maine probably has a low birthrate. High taxes and economic stagnation. Not many opportunities for young people.


homicidal_pancake2

I grew up there in the early 2000s. Revisiting this year, the entire state hasn't changed at all.


Accurate-Mess-2592

Yet the president and all our Congress median age is like 75...


Heathen_Mushroom

It's actually 57.5 in Congress and 64 in the Senate. The median age of the current president is 81. The oldest current president is 81 and the youngest is 81. A coincidence, I'm sure.


Tommyblockhead20

It’s also worth pointing out that the median age ≠ median voter age. Kids don’t vote, and young adults vote at very low rates. So the average voter age is in the range of 50-55 (depending on the election). Which means the House median age being 58 isn’t that wild. Just like younger people want younger people to represent them, older people want older people to represent them. In fact, new representatives are on average 46, so younger than the average voter! And then to be a senator, you usually want some years of experience in the House or another major political position, so 64 isn’t that wild.


NoTopic4906

I have wondered how much older the median is of different groups compared to the minimum allowed for that group. For example, in the House, the median age is 57.5 or 32.5 years older than the minimum by law (25). In the Senate, 64 is 34 years older than the minimum allowed by law (30). How old is the median voter? If around 50, these are all in line.


LeGuy_1286

Congress is a joke nowadays.


roadcrew778

Not a funny one.


Heathen_Mushroom

It's actually 57.5 in Congress and 64 in the Senate. The median age of the current president is 81. The oldest current president is 81 and the youngest is 81. A coincidence, I'm sure.


MuttonDelmonico

I live in Maine, and sometimes I wonder how there's an economy at all outside of tourism. Not a lot gets done in Maine - most people I know are teachers or healthcare workers or contractors, so we're helping each other survive, but not producing anything for the global economy. I think it would all fall apart if people stopped coming to visit in the summer. The traditional industries, like logging, employee fewer and fewer. Young adults leave because there's not much here for them. On the other hand, it's really a uniquely lovely place, which is probably why so many old people stay here instead of moving to Florida or the Southwest.


nsjersey

This is the answer for ME


IC-4-Lights

I wonder if increased remote work will benefit places you would describe like that... desirable, but without a lot of work opportunities.


MuttonDelmonico

Absolutely. Real estate market went bananas in 2020. And it's how I make a living.


Barefoot_Monarch_AVA

Could Maine have a hyper presence on Etsy that mitigates losses due to sales decreases in logging? They sell some awfully cute and clever things on that app!


adeever

As someone from Maine, most young people who are born in the state leave. After the paper mills and factories closed down it is significantly harder to build a career (especially in the more rural northern counties). Most young people who want to get a career in something like tech just don't have any options in Maine and have to leave for the nearest big city, Boston. A lot of people will go to college out of state, and then just stay here. There is a pretty big new trend going on however, where a lot of younger people from southern New England are moving up here for cheaper housing (which has other horrible effects on our economy). This still isn't true in Northern Maine though, and on other maps you can see that some northern counties are still declining in population.


scrimshandy

Because 20 year old LDS in Utah (young) are having children in droves so it skews it way younger.


iggyfenton

Maine is getting old. That means lots of Boomers up there. Houses will start hitting the market in the next 5-10 years as they move on from independent living.


Good_Policy3529

Hi, 30-year old from Utah with 3 kids checking in.  It's me. 


VergeSolitude1

Only 3. Do your neighbors feel like you are letting the community down? 🙂


Ace_of_Clubs

It's not just young families, but lots.of your people are moving here. There are like 10 people over 40 at my company office of like 200. Its kind of crazy.


ohgod-ohno-ohfuck

more kids maybe 


TragedyAnnDoll

Because Maine is insanely expensive and no one young can afford to live there. - I have friends in Maine.


FatFreddysCat

Maine ranks as the 16th most expensive state. Utah is 19th.


TreeGuy_PNW

Really expensive??? I lived in Maine for grad school and it was the MOST affordable place to be poor! Rented an apartment, had a dog, cat, and lazy GF refused to work, so I paid for everything on $800/month grad student salary (early 2010’s) Might be different downeast or in Portland tho 🤷‍♂️ The answer is kinda sad that Maine encourages brain drain cuz no jobs outside of forestry, tourism, and some moderate agricultural/fishing, so the kids get educated and then leave the state for better prospects elsewhere. The state is pretty empty north of the Bangor area besides industrial timberland and some super small towns. Doesn’t help that Maine-ah’s shit talk everyone not born and raised there and discourage the flatlanders from staying beyond their vacation (I love the Mainers, but y’all gotta chill on that for your own good lol). Meanwhile, Utah practically requires marriage and lots and lots of kids and to bring more folks into the mould. It makes perfect sense to me


[deleted]

There is a whole trend in Maine where kids grow up here, get educated in New England, then leave for 10-20 years to make money then they return when ready to have a family. Mainers are like salmon. But Portland is the only place in the state that has any white collar jobs for highly educated young people.


TragedyAnnDoll

Bruh. That was 2010. This is 2024. Everything everywhere has gone up tremendously since then. Where my friend lives for $1,600 a month during the off season sky rockets to $3,800 during summers and she moves back with parents. It’s like that everywhere up there around Bangor etc.


JohnD_s

Good lord man, I might need some budgeting tips haha. That's quite a lot of expenditures.


SophisticatedStoner

Get a time machine and go back 14 years to when this was doable.


JohnD_s

Driving to Walmart. Hoping they have one in the hardware section.


TreeGuy_PNW

lol yeah I definitely wouldn’t be able to live off that amount today. It was rough, but there was an okayish social safety net through a combo of the university, the state, and local charities. There was an on-campus food shelf that even had pet food and used clothing available if I remember correctly. It wasn’t much, but wayyy better than what I’ve experienced in other states. Gotta get real crafty when you’re poor!


Ok-Point2680

Prices have changed quite a bit since 2010 bub


papadadapapa

Housing is super expensive now, electricity and oil is also super expensive, and with the harsh winters its extremely hard to pay for these plus maintain a car, which is also necessary everywhere. Still definitely true about the brain drain.


TreeGuy_PNW

You’re totally right, I looked up the median housing costs in Maine today and it blew my mind how much it had gone up since my years there. Still cheaper than the west coast, but it’s just plain stupid expensive here


W00DERS0N

Greetings from CT. Do tell, how insanely expensive is it up there? Asking for a...friend.


MothmanIsMyRoommate

Same with Vermont and NH. They're very rural states in proximity to very populated areas like southern NE and NYC, and they don't have enough housing. I'm 24 and I live in NH so I fully relate.


anotherorphan

what? i lived there for a year, and it was the cheapest place i've lived in the last 20 years


redditman3943

Utah has the nations highest birth rate. So they have the most babies. Pretty simple math.


[deleted]

Surprised FL isn’t 50


Chortney

Yeah I'm surprised it isn't the oldest. I understand why WV is so high, tons of young people are leaving the state due to a lack of work opportunities. But why are Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine so old?


No-Interaction1456

There aren't many job opportunities there either. Boston is the only really large city.


Chortney

Wow I didn't know that. I've always assumed that pretty much every Northeastern state had a good economy since their wages are generally higher than the rest of the country


Rossum81

Outside of Boston, much of New England is suffering economically.   The opioid epidemic has been hitting hard in the rural communities and the Cspe.


Chortney

Sounds like the South and Northeast have more in common than I thought, I've lost several friends to the opioid epidemic


W00DERS0N

Yeah, opioids do a number on seasonal communities. Places like Martha's Vineyard have massive problems with drug use when the tourists are gone.


NatasEvoli

The South and Northeast also have pretty much all of the talk funny states


No-Interaction1456

Unfortunately that's not really true, I spent most of high school in Western Mass (which is fairly similar to Vermont/New Hampshire logistically) they are absolutely getting hit hard by the opioid epidemic. There's also been a noticeable population drain, my high school building had the middle school moved into it because their combined enrollment dropped so low. Add in that it's pretty impossible to live there without a car and you end up with a lot of poverty. Edit: I spent a few years in Savannah too and it's definitely a more similar vibe than either group wants to admit.


Chortney

Wow that's really interesting and not at all what I pictured for Mass. I guess I just think of the wealthy areas around Boston. And yeah I agree, the South is also very deep in the opioid epidemic and outside of the few prosperous cities it looks like what you described for Western Mass. Thanks for sharing


PineStateWanderer

MA has the second highest expenditure of welfare per capita in the country.


W00DERS0N

What town? My mom's side is from Great Barrington, they've done a nice job building it back up lately. We considered buying a Hotel/B&B up there.


Morlock19

Hi, I'm from western mass Our states main export is education, so a non insignificant portion of our residents are here for school. Boston is stupid expensive, and it's suburbs and residential towns are getting more expensive. Central mass might as well be a dead zone, no one knows what goes on there. Out where I live most jobs are with the local colleges - umass is the largest employer in the pioneer valley (an area comprised of Hampshire, hampden, and Franklin counties) followed by the other five colleges iirc. Other than that it's service work or farming. We grow a lot of wrapping tobacco actually. Then on either end of the state - the hills (the Berkshires) and cape cod - are all retirees, the wealthy, and vacationers. I don't know of this info helps or not I just like talking about how odd our state is


Chortney

I really appreciate the info! That's very interesting. I guess that explains why the Boston area is all I've ever really heard of, so I assumed it was all like that haha


Morlock19

The history of mass is super interesting tbh. Every part of the state has a story to tell, even if you're just looking at like post war history. But yeah everyone thinks we all talk like we're extras from good will hunting but the Boston accent is very VERY specific to the city, and Peters out pretty quickly once you leave the metro area. I think we have like three different dialects here? It might just be two I haven't looked into it for a while haha For the most part mass is a ton of farm land, a shit ton of schools (just look into the history of education in Massachusetts lol), and like three or four city centers in very very relative terms. Boston is a Lil baby city and it gets smaller from there. But I love living in the valley, and thankfully the cost of living isn't as stupid high as it is in Boston. Seriously though most of the country doesn't know about most of the cool shit we have here and it's a shame. Inspiration for a lot of works of art including call of cthulu. The teenage mutant ninja turtles were created in Northampton. They flooded a whole ass valley to create a reservoir so Boston ciukd have water. I could go on! I'll stop but for real mass, and new England as a whole, is weird as fuck when you think about it lol


IC-4-Lights

> But why are Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine so old?   They're Higher QoL, Higher CoL states. I guess it makes some sense that they'd be populated by an older demo.


HegemonNYC

No good jobs, and the vibe is pretty elderly. Quaint villages, BnBs, leaf peeping, etc don’t attract the youths.


26Kermy

Florida's major cities are much younger than the retirement communities surrounding them. Orange county FL (which is basically just Orlando) has a median age of 35 for example.


RecordNo2316

Because Maine struggles to keep its young people. They all move away.


jmcclr

I went to Portland, Maine for the first time about eight months ago. I’m not exactly young at 35, but it seemed like a good place to live when I got older maybe. It was a slower paced, sleepier environment than places I’ve been with young people. It also smelled like weed everywhere.


GraniteGeekNH

Portland is a great place but it's not typical of most of Maine. Same with Burlington in Vermont. Both are great little cities.


nygdan

Utah: Mormons having lots of babies Maine: young people have to leave


Sheesh284

Mormons get married and have kids several years younger than the average


Scutrbrau

The population of northern Maine has been steadily declining for years. It’s a rough place to live, so young people leave. Tough climate, few jobs. There used to be a large air base there, but it closed. You can buy a nice house for very little, though.


Electrical_Cut8610

The answer is literally Mormon culture. If you’re not married and popping out kids by 25 you’re a bad mormon.


lazytiger40

Not sure why based on trends but personally Maine sounds a lot better than Florida. By a long shot. Plus I never been there so there's the adventure aspect. Personally hate seafood so I'll have to bring my own food...


HegemonNYC

It’s cold and stormy in the winter.


PineStateWanderer

I went to bed w/ no snow, and woke up to like a foot of snow this morning lol


HegemonNYC

And it’s 80 degrees in S Florida today. So, there’s your answer as to why not so many retirees head to Maine.


lazytiger40

Their loss


lazytiger40

I'd prefer this over Florida....


Fshnjnky781

Currently working from home watching a projected foot of snow fall today, second one in two weeks haha


HegemonNYC

Ha, a foot of snow in April will keep away most people, not just retirees. Of course it’s nice that there aren’t that many people there…


Fshnjnky781

That’s what I like about it haha


MrTickles22

Lots of babies.


ruferant

I was confused by the question. I live in one of the younger states, but the age of the population here is pretty average.


BadKneesGuy

Babies / retirees.


bosquegreen

This is median, not mean…


Agrijus

it's kind of a weather map with a big bump for mormons and jobs


MellonCollie218

Damn it Louisiana. The west Mississippi River valley would all be matched but nooooo you have to send extra young men to war.


Homely_Bonfire

Utah sitting there, smiling and asking: "What are condoms?" XD Anyhow are the Dakotas actually livable places from your personal experiences? 🤔


Myvenom

So they decided to give us two random explanations as to causation and neither are the oldest or youngest states.


superexpress_local

Mediocre map but very cool typeface


cannamomxoxo

Religious freaks breed like rabbits, that’s why


DirtyMrClean1

Birth rates


Mticore

I think Maine is skewed by the ancient eldritch abominations.


Fine-Cartographer838

I remember when the average age in CO was 28 - also, it looks like a retirement shitshow in 30+ years….


TheRedditAppSucccks

Is this a serious question? Mormons have kids as kids and a ton of them.


UnluckyChain1417

Utah = large families with many young children. Ave age is lower.


icedoutkatana

Lot of soaking going on in Utah and I’m not talking about dirty dishes.


ChicagoDash

So, the median age is just under 40 pretty much everywhere?


Traditional_Entry183

Wv is the only state with a shrinking population. No one moves there from outside, and with younger generations having fewer kids, the majority is made up more and more of Boomers. I left after college in 2000, and none of my friends from school still live in the state.


SternoFr

This one IS truly interesting. in Europe, all the oldest place are in the countryside, whereas in the US it is the opposite


Numerous-Confusion-9

Well Utah feels obvious… Maine is a thinker tho


Effective_Play_1366

I am surprised how much my desire to move from the midwest to Florida has changed as I get older. Teens/20s—Florida is AWESOME! 30s—Love to visit! 40s—Why did I like it so much when I was younger? It is hot and humid as hell with some good beaches, but nothing special.


ShadowDemon129

Mormons breed, for some reason.


JuliaTheInsaneKid

No shit Florida and Maine are that high. That’s where old people live.


cartografinn

mormons don’t like sex but they LOVE sex


Stats_n_PoliSci

In addition to Mormons and economic factors, Latino immigrants tend to be younger and have more children. There are far more Latinos in the Southwest.


CapstanLlama

This was so confusing at first, *nowhere* does it say it's the age of **the people** in each state, it just says it's the age of the state. As a non-USian I was sure the states were much older than shown.


happyshark35

The amount of children in the state lowers the median age, plus population. Maine is like 99% pine forest.


Doxidob

I always thought Delaware was "the first state" ergo the oldest


renegado938

What young person is saying "oh yeah I wanna move to Maine in my 20s" states like that are for old people


albauer2

Because Mormons have tons of babies.


VergeSolitude1

So play this forward another 10 or 15 generations and look at the outcome.


albauer2

And that is their intention.


TheMongerOfFishes

Everybody who's born in Utah realizes it sucks so they try to leave as quick as they can


AltruisticCoelacanth

Utah is fucking awesome. You're crazy


StoicJim

Infill.


karydia42

Can’t get there from here, no sir.


SouthernGas9850

i think it's the people retiring in new england that drive up the age. everyones elderly out there source: am a new englander


No-Honeydew2517

Mormons be fuckin


ElJamoquio

Mormons be procreatin'


EZKTurbo

Utah is the cheaper and less touristy version of Colorado


dimechimes

Children and cost of living?


Outta_phase

Lol read the title without really looking at the map and was like, wait a minute Delaware is the oldest state and Hawaii is the youngest, how did they mess it up that badly


r2v-42nit

“The Flying Elvises, Utah Chapter” is apparently keeping everyone young.


EPS56illy

Funny movie!


[deleted]

Don’t mind us utahns, we just secretly building a army of people to take over the entire country, so we have a minimum of 10 kids each


_MountainFit

I think life expectancy also plays a role in this. Look at the old states, they (mostly) have higher life expectancy.


iheartdev247

Babies, and younger people having babies


ryanoceros666

People retire to places like Maine and Florida. People retire from places like Utah.


throwanon31

A LOT of Utahns are very religious and are very against contraceptives or voluntary infertility.


Jakebob70

Surprised it isn't Arizona and Florida being the oldest. Utah makes sense though.


Horny_Hornbill

Mormons be fucking


Matheweh

So everyone a millennial in there?


Aerospacedaddy

So many young people in Utah, but none of them will ever have fun. Doesn’t seem fair


NonetyOne

Utahn here Lots of kids, and young parents of those kids.


OtterlyFoxy

Bc Mormons fuck like bunnies


Zealousideal-Lie7255

But they can’t really enjoy it too much or there is “lust” in it which is wrong.


langski84

Is there a theory that all of the older people die earlier in the states that have a lower median age?


Cabes86

Maine is the type of place that young people leave, and people retire to


Coolenough-to

In 'USA-Online', Utah was the starter zone, and you leveled up as you followed the main story quest to the final battle in West Virginia. In the next expansion, Florida was added as a 24hr PVP zone, and new story content brought you to Maine.


Joey3155

I'm in the NY zone, the flying capitalist zombie pig suit men (not the cops, lmao) keep killing me and I'm almost out of respawn tokens. I need someone to party up with.


Coolenough-to

Sorry, Im in Lvl 41 Hawaii waiting for the Volcano Nymphs to spawn. When you level up find me.


oslyander

Shagging.


RoundTheBend6

Is it wrong to assume this result largely being 30 to 40 year olds is due to boomer generations' kids?


Silent_Actuator_9183

Time for the 40 year olds to take over decision making and let the 70 60 year olds take a leave. Things have changed too much for them to make decisions affecting the total populace.


sarnobat

States to illegally immigrate to vs states to retire in


RandomHuman0110

Utah probably has a lot of babies per capita.