Census: Decatur, Avondale Estates Grow Older Over Last Decade

Both Decatur and Avondale Estates grew slightly older over the last decade, with a median age that has crept upward and a larger percentage of people age 45 and older making up their populations.

In Decatur, 7,130 people -- or 36.7 percent of the population -- are 45 or older. That’s an increase of 2.8 percent in that age group over the past decade, according to newly released statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.

And Decatur’s median age grew from 36 in 2000 to 38 last year. (The median is the point at which half of the population is older and half is younger.)

In Avondale Estates, almost half of the city’s population is 45 years old or older. That age group accounts for 1,480 people, or 49.8 percent of the population. The city’s median age also rose from 42.9 a decade ago to 45 in the latest Census. 

More Census fast facts for Decatur:  

• Housing vacancy rates rose in Decatur. There were 9,335 housing units in the latest Census and 7.9 percent were vacant. That’s up from 8,497 housing units and a 5.2 percent vacancy rate a decade ago. The Census category of housing units includes single family houses, apartments, mobile homes and even a single room occupied as a separate living quarters.
• Decatur remains a predominantly female city. There were 10,904 females living in Decatur in 2010, a figure that equals 56.4 percent of the population. A decade ago, there were 10,453 females in the city, which accounted for 57.6 percent of the population.
• Decatur has gotten whiter. The city had 11,906 white residents a decade ago and 14,215 white residents in 2010. Whites were 65.6 percent of the population ten years ago and now are 73.5 percent of the population. The African-American population dropped from 5,532 to 3,910, going from 30.5 percent of the population to 20.2 percent.
• Decatur's Latino population doubled from 304 people a decade ago to 612 in the latest Census, representing an increase from 1.7 percent of the population to 3.2 percent. And the city’s Asian population has increased from 298 to 564. That's an increase from 1.6 percent of the population to 2.9 percent over ten years.
• Decatur’s overall population grew from 18,147 to 19,335, an increase of 1,188 people over the past decade. That’s a 6.5 percent increase.

More Avondale Estates fast facts:

• In Avondale Estates, 7.6 percent of the town’s 1,478 housing units were vacant in 2010. That compares to a 2.9 percent vacancy rate a decade ago, when Avondale Estates had 1,263 housing units.
• Avondale Estates has become more diverse. The town had 2,394 white residents and 428 African-Americans in the latest Census, making the community 80.9 percent white and 14.5 percent African American. A decade ago, there were 2,316 whites and 225 African Americans, which made the town 88.8 percent white and 8.7 percent African-American.
• The city's Latino population grew from 40 to 64 over the past decade. That's an increase from 1.5 percent of the population to 2.2 percent.
• The Asian population went from 1 percent of the town's population to 1.9 percent over the past decade.
  
• Avondale Estates' overall population grew by 351 people over the past ten years, from 2,609 to 2,960.