BOISE Idaho has the eighth-youngest population in the nation.
At 32.6, the state's median age is almost 1.5 years younger than the national median, according to new U.S. Census Bureau figures.
The agency's estimate puts Idaho's overall population at 1,133,000 on July 1, 1994, up 12.5
percent from April 1, 1990.
Utah has the nation's youngest median age at 26.7. Alaska, Texas, California, New Mexico, Louisiana and Mississippi also have younger populations than Idaho. Two of Idaho's neighbors Oregon and Montana have among the nation's highest median ages. Montana's is 35.4 and Oregon's 35.8.
Experts attribute Idaho's low median age to large families and the arrival of more younger people seeking jobs. Idaho also has the second-highest birthrate in the country, exceeded only by Utah, said Harley Johansen, a geography professor at the University of Idaho.
Tracking the age of people moving into Idaho is difficult. But economists and others say most people on the move and looking for jobs are at the age of having children.
"We have an awful lot of children in relation to the population," said John Church, an Idaho Power Co. economist.
In assessing the effects of a younger population, Church and others point immediately to the school system.
High-growth areas such as Meridian have been hard hit. For example, Meridian School District voters will decide March 21 whether to pass a $27.4 million bond to finance construction of three elementary schools and one middle school to keep up with enrollment growth.
As the younger population strains schools, it also affects the work force.
Younger workers are likely to earn a lower wage because they often take entry-level jobs.
"You don't start at the top," said Alan Porter of the Idaho Division of Financial Management.
The state's younger population affects the types of retail stores that locate in Idaho. Zane Bowerman of CPS Consulting Group, a Boise marketing research firm, said high-end retailers are less likely to settle in an area where people earn lower wages.
Johansen said there is a large difference between rural and urban Idaho in terms of median age.
For the state as a whole, 11.6 percent of the population is 65 or older, according to the Census Bureau's 1994 estimates. But in rural areas, 16 percent of the population was older than 65.
