Top 12 States for the Newest Income Planning Prospects

About 4.6 million Americans will turn 40 this year and start to age into the prime retirement income planning market. New U.S. Census Bureau population age tables show that, at the state level, the percentage of residents reaching that key age ranges from 1.22% in New Hampshire up to a high of 1.5% in one of the Mountain States. The average throughout the country is about 1.38%. In other words: In one state, the odds that any given prospect you see will be 40 years old are 23% higher than in New Hampshire. For a look at the 12 states with the highest percentage of 40-year-old residents, see the gallery above.

What It Means

For anyone interested in retirement income planning market data, the Census Bureau website is a good website to get to know.

The Income Planning Market

Anyone old enough to understand a calendar should be thinking about how they'll pay for retirement, but the need becomes more obvious as consumers grow up, move out of their parents' homes and settle into their careers. Many workers set up individual retirement accounts and participate in 401(k) plans as soon as they become eligible. U.S. consumers typically start to buy annuities around age 40. The median age of the first individual annuity purchase is 52, according to the Committee of Annuity Insurers.

Census Age Data

The U.S. Census Bureau recently posted the Demographic and Housing Characteristics File. Advisors and others can use the tables that are part of the file to get information about topics such as population by single year of age, broken down by state, county, congressional district, metropolitan area and, in some cases, ZIP code level and block level. For data on the number of 40-year-olds living in all 50 states and some other state-like jurisdictions in 2020, see the table below.

	All-Age Population	Number of 40-Year-Olds	40-Year-Olds as a Percentage of State Population
..Alabama..	..5,024,279..	..66,166..	..1.32%..
..Alaska..	..733,391..	..10,567..	..1.44%..
..Arizona..	..7,151,502..	..95,849..	..1.34%..
..Arkansas..	..3,011,524..	..40,128..	..1.33%..
..California..	..39,538,223..	..585,532..	..1.48%..
..Colorado..	..5,773,714..	..84,907..	..1.47%..
..Connecticut..	..3,605,944..	..47,679..	..1.32%..
..Delaware..	..989,948..	..12,418..	..1.25%..
..District of Columbia..	..689,545..	..10,678..	..1.55%..
..Florida..	..21,538,187..	..283,675..	..1.32%..
..Georgia..	..10,711,908..	..153,324..	..1.43%..
..Hawaii..	..1,455,271..	..21,062..	..1.45%..
..Idaho..	..1,839,106..	..24,872..	..1.35%..
..Illinois..	..12,812,508..	..182,883..	..1.43%..
..Indiana..	..6,785,528..	..90,951..	..1.34%..
..Iowa..	..3,190,369..	..42,190..	..1.32%..
..Kansas..	..2,937,880..	..39,372..	..1.34%..
..Kentucky..	..4,505,836..	..60,543..	..1.34%..
..Louisiana..	..4,657,757..	..64,318..	..1.38%..
..Maine..	..1,362,359..	..16,937..	..1.24%..
..Maryland..	..6,177,224..	..86,452..	..1.40%..
..Massachusetts..	..7,029,917..	..92,009..	..1.31%..
..Michigan..	..10,077,331..	..125,484..	..1.25%..
..Minnesota..	..5,706,494..	..79,254..	..1.39%..
..Mississippi..	..2,961,279..	..39,133..	..1.32%..
..Missouri..	..6,154,913..	..81,078..	..1.32%..
..Montana..	..1,084,225..	..14,494..	..1.34%..
..Nebraska..	..1,961,504..	..26,403..	..1.35%..
..Nevada..	..3,104,614..	..45,837..	..1.48%..
..New Hampshire..	..1,377,529..	..16,861..	..1.22%..
..New Jersey..	..9,288,994..	..131,418..	..1.41%..
..New Mexico..	..2,117,522..	..27,905..	..1.32%..
..New York..	..20,201,249..	..283,213..	..1.40%..
..North Carolina..	..10,439,388..	..141,162..	..1.35%..
..North Dakota..	..779,094..	..10,213..	..1.31%..
..Ohio..	..11,799,448..	..151,926..	..1.29%..
..Oklahoma..	..3,959,353..	..54,954..	..1.39%..
..Oregon..	..4,237,256..	..62,094..	..1.47%..
..Pennsylvania..	..13,002,700..	..165,964..	..1.28%..
..Rhode Island..	..1,097,379..	..14,598..	..1.33%..
..South Carolina..	..5,118,425..	..66,302..	..1.30%..
..South Dakota..	..886,667..	..11,794..	..1.33%..
..Tennessee..	..6,910,840..	..92,940..	..1.34%..
..Texas..	..29,145,505..	..427,564..	..1.47%..
..Utah..	..3,271,616..	..48,949..	..1.50%..
..Vermont..	..643,077..	..8,325..	..1.29%..
..Virginia..	..8,631,393..	..120,252..	..1.39%..
..Washington..	..7,705,281..	..114,159..	..1.48%..
..West Virginia..	..1,793,716..	..24,398..	..1.36%..
..Wisconsin..	..5,893,718..	..78,153..	..1.33%..
..Wyoming..	..576,851..	..8,050..	..1.40%..
..Puerto Rico..	..3,285,874..	..46,838..	..1.43%..
..TOTAL..	..331,449,281..	..4,585,389..	..1.38%..

Time is passing — for the 1980s babies, too. (Photo: David Gray/Bloomberg)