The risk of rib fracture significantly increases with age with compounding deleterious effects. Previous research identifying rib properties has provided useful information for application in car safety. However, no study to-date has included a comprehensive sample including pediatric and elderly ribs tested in the same repeatable set-up. The goal of this study is to characterize the differences in rib response across the age spectrum. Seventy-one excised ribs from 26 individuals were experimentally tested in a custom fixture simulating a dynamic frontal impact. Four strain gages on each rib were used to determine time of failure. Ages ranged from nine to 92 years old, with a mean age of 61 years and with the exception of the 50’s, all age decades are represented. Effective stiffness (K) was calculated as the slope of the linear portion of the force-deflection curve. Rib pairs were tested at different rates (1.0 and 2.0 m/s) to assess the rate-dependency of stiffness. Results indicate a significant difference in effective stiffness by age (evaluated by ANOVA, p < 0.001) and no difference by rate within rib pairs (evaluated by paired t-test, p = 0.125).