The Observation Deck

We were in Lakewood the other day for several hours and observed how young the population has become. We needed groceries so we went to the Giant Eagle on Bunts, which is not as bad as a lot of people say online. As I looked around, the vast majority of people were much younger than I remember from just a year ago when the trend was evident but not as pronounced. Of course we contributed to this when we sold and moved out of town. Anyone else notice this happening?

Dan Alaimo wrote:We were in Lakewood the other day for several hours and observed how young the population has become. We needed groceries so we went to the Giant Eagle on Bunts, which is not as bad as a lot of people say online. As I looked around, the vast majority of people were much younger than I remember from just a year ago when the trend was evident but not as pronounced. Of course we contributed to this when we sold and moved out of town. Anyone else notice this happening?

Dan, the data show that Lakewood's population is getting slightly younger. The most recent census showed the average age of Lakewood's residents was 34. Compare this to the 2017 census survey which showed the average age to be 34.7, and in 2010 it was 34.9.

One thing that hasn't changed: excluding the college town of University Heights, Lakewood had the youngest median resident age in Cuyahoga County in each survey.

Dan OMalley wrote:

Dan Alaimo wrote:We were in Lakewood the other day for several hours and observed how young the population has become. We needed groceries so we went to the Giant Eagle on Bunts, which is not as bad as a lot of people say online. As I looked around, the vast majority of people were much younger than I remember from just a year ago when the trend was evident but not as pronounced. Of course we contributed to this when we sold and moved out of town. Anyone else notice this happening?

Dan, the data show that Lakewood's population is getting slightly younger. The most recent census showed the average age of Lakewood's residents was 34. Compare this to the 2017 census survey which showed the average age to be 34.7, and in 2010 it was 34.9.

One thing that hasn't changed: excluding the college town of University Heights, Lakewood had the youngest median resident age in Cuyahoga County in each survey.

That average age would jibe with my rough observations in Giant Eagle that day.

Do you have access to comparable data from other West Side surburbs? I'm interested in Westlake in particular, and Fairview as well.

As I look around my new city, I'd expect Westlake's average age to be a solid increment higher, and then Farview to be somewhere in between.

Dan Alaimo wrote:

Dan OMalley wrote:

Dan Alaimo wrote:We were in Lakewood the other day for several hours and observed how young the population has become. We needed groceries so we went to the Giant Eagle on Bunts, which is not as bad as a lot of people say online. As I looked around, the vast majority of people were much younger than I remember from just a year ago when the trend was evident but not as pronounced. Of course we contributed to this when we sold and moved out of town. Anyone else notice this happening?

Dan, the data show that Lakewood's population is getting slightly younger. The most recent census showed the average age of Lakewood's residents was 34. Compare this to the 2017 census survey which showed the average age to be 34.7, and in 2010 it was 34.9.

One thing that hasn't changed: excluding the college town of University Heights, Lakewood had the youngest median resident age in Cuyahoga County in each survey.

That average age would jibe with my rough observations in Giant Eagle that day.

Do you have access to comparable data from other West Side surburbs? I'm interested in Westlake in particular, and Fairview as well.

As I look around my new city, I'd expect Westlake's average age to be a solid increment higher, and then Farview to be somewhere in between.

Dan, here you go: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/ ... /PST045221

Your observations would be correct: Fairview's average age is 39.3 and Westlake's is 47.0

If you want to add other cities to the chart, just type them into the bar at the top left.

Dan, thanks!

For my own reference, I added Lakewood and Medina into the mix and saw many interesting differences, at least to me. The lower percentage of over-65s in Lakewood, lower health insurance availability in Lakewood, higher percentage of females in Westlake (probably correlates with higher age). Local officials and politicians should take a look.