Recent census figures show that the average age of North Carolinians is continuing to increase, mostly due to a decline in the birth rate.

Data reveals that the number of children 4 and under is stagnant or declining in the Triad and High Country.

According to Nathan Dollar, director of Carolina Demography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a drop in fertility is to blame. He says last year the state grew by about 140,000 people.

“But if you look at the components of that change, you can see that 91% of all growth at the state level was due to in-migration, net migration, and only 9% was due to natural change, or more births than deaths,” he says. 

That’s reflected in the number of children 4 and under. In Watauga County, the number of kids in that range declined by almost 10 percent. Only three other counties in the state saw more significant drops. 

Last year, the average age in North Carolina ticked up to 39.3. Dollar says that’s the highest it’s ever been.