Dakotans Are Getting Younger, Thanks to Oil Boom

WASHINGTON (AP) — North Dakota and South Dakota are among five states that saw the median age of their population drop thanks to the country's oil and gas boom.

Data released Thursday by the Census Bureau shows the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming and Oklahoma are attracting young men looking for work in the oil fields. Alaska and Hawaii also saw their population's age slide.

Meanwhile, the Census Bureau says the median age in the U.S. went up a little bit last year from 37.5 years to 37.6 years.

The age changes for the mainland states were mostly minuscule. In North Dakota the median age went from 35.881 to 35.270, a difference of .611. And in South Dakota the change was from 36.841 to 36.818, a difference of .023.