Hawaii truly is the face of the future

The conventional wisdom is that the United States is aging, with the oldest baby boomers hitting 65 this year and the youngest turning 50.

Hawaii is bucking the trend, though: New U.S. Census data shows that we’re among the seven states where the median age fell from 2012 to 2013. In Hawaii’s case, the tiny decline barely takes our median to the U.S. figure of 37 years.

Other interesting Census facts: Asians are the fastest-growing population group nationwide, followed by Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders. It looks like Hawaii truly is the face of America’s future.

Worst-case scenario could be pretty bad

Some business people in Hawaii worried last week when it was announced that the U.S. Army might reduce its footprint on Oahu by up to 20,000 soldiers and civilian workers by 2020.

Presented as part of a worst-case scenario due to possible federal budget cuts, such a move supposedly would equal a loss of $1.4 billion in income to Hawaii over the next six years, and that’s not chump change. It certainly could have a devastating effect on the local economy, especially in towns like Wahiawa, whose merchants depend greatly on the soldiers from nearby Schofield Barracks.

Of course, it’s possible having 18,119 fewer soldiers on the island could relieve pressure on Hawaii’s rental market. It also would reduce the state’s reliance on the military — which some would applaud. But still, like we said, $1.4 billion isn’t chump change. We could be in for a rough ride.