Quick take
Voter registration rises steadily with age in this dataset, and the gap between registration and reported voting narrows as age increases. The clearest pattern is simple: older age groups are more likely to be registered, and they are also more likely to report voting (Census P20-587 Table 1).
Table of contents
- What the dataset covers
- At-a-glance numbers
- Age patterns in registration
- Age patterns in reported voting
- Registration vs. voting by age band
- What the single-year ages show
- How to read these statistics
What the dataset covers
This article uses one source row only, and every factual statement below comes from that row. The dataset reports the share of people ages 18 and over who were registered to vote and the share who reported voting, with both percentages and population counts provided by age group and single-year age (Census P20-587 Table 1).
The broad total for adults 18 years and over is 73.6% registered, or 173,854 thousand people, and 65.3% reported voting, or 154,308 thousand people (Census P20-587 Table 1). That is the baseline for every comparison below.
At-a-glance numbers
A few figures stand out immediately.
- Total 18 years and over: 73.6% registered, 65.3% reported voting (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- Lowest broad age-group registration: 18 to 24 years at 58.3% (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- Highest broad age-group registration: 65 to 74 years at 80.5% (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- Highest broad age-group reported voting: 65 to 74 years at 75.2% (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- 55 to 64 years: 77.9% registered and 71.1% reported voting (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- 75 years and over: 80.1% registered and 74.0% reported voting (Census P20-587 Table 1)
The dataset’s overall story is a strong age gradient: registration and reported voting both increase with age, with the oldest groups clustering near the top of the table (Census P20-587 Table 1).
Age patterns in registration
The broad age bands show a clear progression. The youngest adult band, ages 18 to 24, has the lowest registration rate at 58.3%. From there, the rate rises through 25 to 34 years at 68.4%, 35 to 44 years at 73.0%, 45 to 54 years at 76.5%, and 55 to 64 years at 77.9% (Census P20-587 Table 1).
The older groups stay at the top. Ages 65 to 74 years reach 80.5%, and ages 75 years and over remain high at 80.1% (Census P20-587 Table 1). That means the gap between the youngest adult group and the top of the table is 22.2 percentage points when comparing 18 to 24 years with 65 to 74 years.
Registration by broad age band
| Age group | Registered | Reported voting |
|---|---|---|
| Total 18 years and over | 73.6% | 65.3% |
| 18 to 24 years | 58.3% | 47.7% |
| 25 to 34 years | 68.4% | 56.8% |
| 35 to 44 years | 73.0% | 63.7% |
| 45 to 54 years | 76.5% | 68.7% |
| 55 to 64 years | 77.9% | 71.1% |
| 65 to 74 years | 80.5% | 75.2% |
| 75 years and over | 80.1% | 74.0% |
This table makes the directional pattern obvious. Each successive broad age band, except for a slight dip at 75 years and over versus 65 to 74 years, shows higher registration than the previous younger group (Census P20-587 Table 1).
Age patterns in reported voting
Reported voting follows the same pattern as registration, but at a lower level across every age band. The 18 to 24 years group reports voting at 47.7%, while 25 to 34 years rises to 56.8%, 35 to 44 years to 63.7%, 45 to 54 years to 68.7%, and 55 to 64 years to 71.1% (Census P20-587 Table 1).
The two oldest groups again sit at the top. Ages 65 to 74 years report voting at 75.2%, and ages 75 years and over at 74.0% (Census P20-587 Table 1). The top-to-bottom spread is 27.5 percentage points between 18 to 24 years and 65 to 74 years.
A useful way to read the dataset is to compare registration and voting side by side. In every broad age group, the voting percentage is lower than the registration percentage, but the difference is not constant. The gap is largest in the youngest adult band and tends to narrow in the older groups (Census P20-587 Table 1).
Registration vs. voting by age band
The gap between being registered and reporting voting tells you how much participation falls below registration within each age group. The numbers below are straightforward differences from the same row.
- 18 to 24 years: 58.3% registered vs. 47.7% voting, a gap of 10.6 points (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- 25 to 34 years: 68.4% registered vs. 56.8% voting, a gap of 11.6 points (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- 35 to 44 years: 73.0% registered vs. 63.7% voting, a gap of 9.3 points (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- 45 to 54 years: 76.5% registered vs. 68.7% voting, a gap of 7.8 points (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- 55 to 64 years: 77.9% registered vs. 71.1% voting, a gap of 6.8 points (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- 65 to 74 years: 80.5% registered vs. 75.2% voting, a gap of 5.3 points (Census P20-587 Table 1)
- 75 years and over: 80.1% registered vs. 74.0% voting, a gap of 6.1 points (Census P20-587 Table 1)
What the gap suggests
The older the group, the closer the voting rate is to the registration rate. That does not require any outside explanation to see; it is visible directly in the percentages. The youngest adult band has a double-digit gap, while the oldest groups are closer to a five- or six-point spread (Census P20-587 Table 1).
A compact comparison makes that easier to scan.
| Age group | Registration | Voting | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 24 years | 58.3% | 47.7% | 10.6 |
| 25 to 34 years | 68.4% | 56.8% | 11.6 |
| 35 to 44 years | 73.0% | 63.7% | 9.3 |
| 45 to 54 years | 76.5% | 68.7% | 7.8 |
| 55 to 64 years | 77.9% | 71.1% | 6.8 |
| 65 to 74 years | 80.5% | 75.2% | 5.3 |
| 75 years and over | 80.1% | 74.0% | 6.1 |
That progression is one of the strongest patterns in the dataset. It shows that the same age order appears whether you look at registration or reported voting, and that the distance between them generally shrinks with age (Census P20-587 Table 1).
What the single-year ages show
The single-year ages add detail to the broad bands. They show that the climb in registration and voting is not perfectly smooth, but the direction is still mostly upward across the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s (Census P20-587 Table 1).
Early adulthood
At age 18, registration is 44.0% and reported voting is 37.3% (Census P20-587 Table 1). That is the lowest single-year age in the list. The next few ages move upward: age 19 is 58.8% registered and 45.9% voting, age 20 is 56.7% registered and 44.6% voting, and age 21 is 57.7% registered and 47.0% voting (Census P20-587 Table 1).
The 20s continue that climb, with 22 years at 63.1% registered and 53.1% voting, 23 years at 65.3% and 54.5%, and 24 years at 63.6% and 52.6% (Census P20-587 Table 1). Even though the pattern is not a straight line, the level is clearly higher than at 18.
The 30s and 40s
In the 30s, registration and voting mostly sit in the upper 60s and low 60s. For example, 30 years is 69.7% registered and 58.0% voting, 33 years is 69.6% and 59.5%, and 34 years is 69.1% and 58.2% (Census P20-587 Table 1).
The 40s move higher. Age 40 is 74.8% registered and 65.7% voting, age 41 is 75.2% and 67.2%, age 45 is 78.6% and 69.4%, and age 46 is 79.2% and 70.2% (Census P20-587 Table 1). Those midlife ages sit near the top of the table without yet reaching the older age bands’ highest overall rates.
The 50s
The 50s are especially strong in both metrics. Age 51 reaches 78.4% registered and 70.8% voting, age 54 reaches 77.8% and 71.5%, age 56 reaches 77.7% and 72.5%, and age 59 reaches 76.9% and 70.0% (Census P20-587 Table 1).
Several single-year ages in the 50s are already close to the overall peaks seen in the broad age bands. That makes the 50s a high-participation decade even before the 65 to 74 years band takes the top spot.
Selected single-year ages at a glance
| Age | Registered | Reported voting |
|---|---|---|
| 18 years | 44.0% | 37.3% |
| 25 years | 64.3% | 51.4% |
| 30 years | 69.7% | 58.0% |
| 40 years | 74.8% | 65.7% |
| 50 years | 72.8% | 65.7% |
| 60 years | 76.9% | 69.0% |
| 65 years | 78.3% | 72.8% |
| 70 years | 79.7% | 74.7% |
These examples are not a substitute for the full list, but they do show the directional structure of the data: early adulthood starts low, middle age rises, and later adulthood stays elevated (Census P20-587 Table 1).
How to read these statistics
This dataset is best read as a registration-and-participation profile by age, not as a single headline rate. The total adult figures summarize the whole population, but the age-specific rows reveal where the sharpest differences are.
Three practical reading points come straight from the numbers.
- Registration rises with age in the broad bands, from 58.3% among ages 18 to 24 years to about 80% among the oldest groups (Census P20-587 Table 1).
- Reported voting also rises with age, from 47.7% among ages 18 to 24 years to 75.2% among ages 65 to 74 years (Census P20-587 Table 1).
- The gap between registration and reported voting narrows with age in most bands, which means older groups are closer to converting registration into reported turnout (Census P20-587 Table 1).
If you are scanning the dataset for the fastest comparison, start with the total adult row, then compare 18 to 24 years, 25 to 34 years, 45 to 54 years, 65 to 74 years, and 75 years and over. Those rows capture the overall shape without losing the age gradient that defines the whole table (Census P20-587 Table 1).