The Berkshires Has a City With One of the Older Populations in the U.S.

The median age of the U.S. was as high in this last year as it has ever been. Back in the 1970s, that age was less than 30. Today, it's 38.2, which is up more than a full year from the past decade. So, where are these cities throughout the country that have their populations aging ever so gracefully? It turns out that one of the oldest throughout the United States is right here in the Berkshires.

For the past year, 24/7 Wall St. did the research using data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau to narrow down the top 50 oldest metropolitan populations throughout the country. Take into consideration that it's not just the city, but the entire metro, which you can already guess means Pittsfield.

The median ages on the list of those top 50 metropolitan populations are between the ages of 43 and 60. While many of the cities on that list happen to be in regions known for warmer climates, in states like Florida, Arizona, Georgia, and South Carolina, finishing as the 19th oldest population in the U.S. is Pittsfield, MA.

Keep in mind this for the entire metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsfield. In that particular metro, the population grows to 125,927 with a median age of 47.2 years old, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Only 6.7 percent of that population is enrolled in college, which ranks 161st out of 384 total metros.

Of those metros used in the research, Pittsfield has the 11th lowest population of those that are age 18 and younger at 18.3 percent. We also had the 24th highest percentage of population at 65 and older, which was at 22.9 percent.

So, it looks like we happen to be a little older than most metropolitan populations throughout the nation. We're just a little more mature with a little more wisdom here. That's all that means. And we seem to be aging pretty gracefully.