I had an opportunity to look at the Census data for Lyme. I charted the data for 2010 and 2020.

Here’s what I see in this data:

• Lyme’s median age is now 46.5 years, having increased by three and a half years between 2010 and 2020. Today’s median age is even above the New Hampshire median of 43.1 years, and much higher than the national value of 38.8 years. Wikipedia
• Lyme’s population decreased in that decade.
• Like most of NH, a significant number of 20-30 year olds moved away. The loss of 20-24 year olds is particularly acute in Lyme.
• The chart shows a significant loss of 40-60 year olds over the decade. These people typically have reached a stable point in their lives, and provide vitality and leadership for a town.
• At the same time, there is a large increase in 65-75 year olds. Although the joke goes, “Seventy is the new fifty…” this population will use increasingly larger amounts of service.
• There is a significant decrease in the number of school age children, following the demographic trends across the country.

Are any of these trends important for Lyme’s future?

The raw data was retrieved from US Census, American Community Survey at: https://bit.ly/LymeCensus-2010-2020

Feel free to share this post on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or email. Any opinions expressed here are solely my own, and not those of any public body, such as the Lyme Planning Board, Budget Committee, or Trustees of the Trust Funds where I volunteer. I would be interested to hear your thoughts – you can reach me at richb.lyme@gmail.com.