May 1, 2015
5/1: Middle-Aged Wishes and Birthday Cake Dreams
Blow out the candles and make a wish! It’s time for Dr. Lee M. Miringoff’s annual birthday poll.
Every year, Dr. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, yearns to know whether Americans consider his soon-to-be age young, middle-aged, or old. This year, Dr. Miringoff’s wish may come true one more time.
Click Here for Complete May 1, 2015 USA Marist Poll Release and Tables
Nearly six in ten Americans, 57%, say 64 is middle-aged. 31% consider it old, and 12% think it is young. Miringoff’s age hangs on to the description of “middle-aged.” Last year, when he turned 63 years old, 60% said he was a middle-ager, 27% thought he was old, and 13% described him as young.
“Phew,” says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “I would be less than honest if I didn’t notice the increase among Americans who think my age is old. But, overall, I survived another year!”
Younger Americans, not surprisingly, are more likely than their older counterparts to consider 64 to be old. Among Americans under 30, six in ten, 60%, think 64 years of age is old, up from 48% last year who thought 63 was old.
Gender differences exist. While similar proportions of women, 13%, and men, 10%, say 64 is young, women, 61%, are more likely than men, 52%, to think it is middle-aged. Nearly four in ten men, 38%, compared with 25% of women, believe 64 is old.