Oh No, Not Another Doom Loop

Not another doom loop. A weeklong series in the San Francisco Chronicle that highlighted the region’s aging population and dubbed the trend “the real doom loop” has thrust the Bay Area’s demographic trends into the spotlight. The aging of the regional population has been studied by our own Bay Area Council Economic Institute, with an original analysis published back in 2023. Concerningly, the latest data now shows that the San Francisco metro area has the highest median age outside of Florida, and it is aging faster than all other major U.S. regions.

On Monday (July 21) Economic Institute Executive Director Jeff Bellisario joined KALW’s State of the Bay show to discuss these demographic trends, their causes, and their implications for the economy with Ted Egan, Chief Economist for the City and County of San Francisco. While both agreed the region’s graying demographics should not be described as the next doom loop, the consequences of an aging population can cap the Bay Area’s economic potential going forward and could put downward pressure on overall population numbers.

For more data insights, please visit the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.