Oakwood’s 2003 population is estimated at 9206 persons. The five-year projection shows a stable population, with no major increase or decrease expected. According to projections prepared by MVRPC, Oakwood’s population is expected to be approximately 9534 in the year 2030, an increase of 328 people.
Age Distribution
Oakwood has a slightly younger population profile than nearby communities. In Oakwood, the percent of the population over eighteen is estimated at 70.9%. In Kettering, the percent of the population over eighteen is estimated at 77.5%, and in Centerville it is estimated at 78.4%.
The median age in Oakwood is close to that of the surrounding communities. It is estimated that the 2000 median age of Oakwood residents is 39.4 years, compared to 42.6 years in Centerville, 38.9 in Kettering, and 36.6 in the Dayton-Springfield MSA.
Over the last twenty years, the under age 5 population has grown by 48.8%, although the population under nineteen has remained about the same (27.6% in 1980 and 31.0% in 2000).
Significant changes have also occurred in the 18-24 and 20-24 age cohort groups. Between 1980 and 2000, the population in these groups decreased by 41.7%.
The elderly population has also decreased by 27.9% over the past 20 years, partially due to the overall population decrease. However, the percent of the population over age 65 has increased slightly in recent years, from 13.8% in 2000, to 14.0% estimated in 2003. Oakwood has a smaller percentage of the population over the age of 65 than the rest of Montgomery County, the region, Kettering, and Centerville.
Households
According to the United States Census Bureau, “A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence.” Household formation generally exceeds the rate of population growth, largely as a result of the increase in single-person households, longer life expectancies, single-parent households, and the rate of divorce. A by-product of these trends is a decreasing household size. However, the current general demographic trends in the United States indicate that the household rate is slowing, single-person households are increasing, and divorce rates are stabilizing.
Household size in the City of Oakwood varies somewhat from this general trend. Oakwood’s average household size has remained constant since 1980, when it was 2.5 persons per household. Oakwood’s estimated 2003 average household size (2.5) is the same as it was in the 2000 Census.
The MSA has an average household size of 2.4. Centerville’s average household size is 2.3, and Kettering’s is 2.2. In Montgomery County, the average number is 2.3 persons per household.
Oakwood had 3633 households in 2000. Between 1980 and 2000, Oakwood has seen a 2.3% decrease in the number of households, which is consistent with the minor decrease in overall population. However, between 1990 and 2000, Oakwood gained an additional 12 households, which reflects a minor increase.
The majority of households in Oakwood (71.5%) are family households. 61.8% are married-couple families. Only 28.5% are non-family households, indicating a strong family orientation.