List of presidents of the United States by age

This is a list of presidents of the United States by age. The first table charts the age of each president of the United States at the time of their inauguration (first inauguration if elected to multiple and consecutive terms), upon leaving office, and at the time of death. Presidents who are still living have their lifespans and post-presidency timespans calculated through February 25, 2026.

Age of presidents

Article Two of the United States Constitution provides that U.S. presidents must be at least 35 years old at the time they take office. The median age at inauguration of incoming U.S. presidents is 55 years. The youngest person to become U.S. president was Theodore Roosevelt at age 42, who succeeded to the office after the assassination of William McKinley. The oldest person inaugurated president is Donald Trump, at age 78 years, 7 months, for his second, nonconsecutive, term.

John F. Kennedy was the youngest person elected as president, at age 43; assassinated at age 46, he was also the youngest president at the end of his tenure, and his lifespan was the shortest of any president. The oldest president at the end of his tenure is Joe Biden at age 82 years, 2 months. Jimmy Carter had the longest lifespan of any president, becoming the first president to reach the age of 100.

James K. Polk had the shortest retirement of any president, dying of cholera only 103 days after leaving office, at age 53, and the youngest to die of natural causes. Carter's retirement at 43 years, 344 days, is the longest in American presidential history. Biden is the oldest of the five living U.S. presidents, age 83 years, 97 days. The youngest living former president is Barack Obama, age 64 years, 205 days.

Presidential age-related data

Notes

Graphical representation

This is a graphical lifespan timeline of the presidents of the United States, listed in order of their first term.

The following chart shows presidents by their age (living presidents in green), with the years of their presidency in blue. The chart starts at 35 years as it is the minimum age to be president.

See also

• List of vice presidents of the United States by age

References

Sources

• Frank Freidel and Hugh S. Sidey, "The Presidents of the United States". The White House.
• Robert S. Summers, "POTUS: Presidents of the United States". Internet Public Library.