LEELANAU COUNTY -- According to the study done by the Detroit Free Press, one of the oldest areas is Leelanau County where the median age is about 48 years old.

7&4's Kate Fox spoke with leaders in the area to find out how the heavy concentration of retirees affects the community.

Leelanau Chamber of Commerce Director Sally Guzowski says, "The new fresh ideas that young people bring to the table, by having a lack of them, I kind of wonder if were stalled a little bit in moving Leelanau County forward into the future."

Guzowski says having an older population has a profound effect on Leelanau's economy. Retirees bring their families to the area in the summer, boosting local business but come winter it's a different story.

Guzowski explains, "They struggle very much, it's really painful to watch they have to work very hard in the summer to make their money so they can make it through the winter months."

She says because it's such a tourist driven place there's a lack of job opportunities and younger generations are forced to move for economic survival.

Guzowski says, "There not always the best paying jobs and when we've got young people that move out of the county, go to college, it's very hard for them to move back and to try to find something they can live on."

The study also reveals that only about 18% of Leelanau County is made up of kids ages five to eighteen--which presents challenges for schools.

Superintendent of Northport Jeff Tropf says, "We have an older population that really don't have school aged kids and because a lot of the school funding happens to be based on numbers of pupils you have, it's a real challenge to balance the books in a declining student population."

But after almost seven years of declining enrollment, Tropf says this year numbers are up from 145 students to 171.

He credits solid programs across the board like the Northport scholarship-- which entices families to move into the Village by offering money for college.

President of Northport Promise Ruth Steel Walker says, "The Northport promise is a commitment on behalf of the whole community on keeping our area very vital, very a live, and mixed inner generational community--which is important to the overall health of any community."

Superintendent Tropf recommends that schools across the board create comprehensive programs in the arts, music and athletics to draw families and students in.