Older Americans Month originated with a presidential proclamation in May 1963 and it has been proclaimed each May by presidents every year since. Last year, President Bush stated, "Older Americans continue to work in a variety of jobs -- from teachers, to engineers, to business owners and entrepreneurs -- and in so doing bring invaluable experience and leadership skills. Additionally, their wisdom, strength and compassion reflect the character of our great nation."
Census Bureau collects
data on seniors
for Older Americans Month 2004
April 28, 2004 - Older
Americans Month originated with a presidential proclamation in May 1963 and
it has been proclaimed each May by presidents every year since. Last year,
President Bush stated, "Older Americans continue to work in a variety
of jobs -- from teachers, to engineers, to business owners and entrepreneurs
-- and in so doing bring invaluable experience and leadership skills.
Additionally, their wisdom, strength and compassion reflect the character of
our great nation."
35.9 million -- The
number of people 65 and over in the United States on July 1, 2003. That is
12 percent of the total population. Since Census 2000, 927,000 people have
moved into this age group. Click
here for details.
86.7 million --
Projected population of people 65 and over in the year 2050. People in this
age group would comprise 21 percent of the total population at that
time. Click
here for details.
147 percent -- Projected
percentage increase in the 65-and-over population between 2000 and 2050. By
comparison, the population as a whole would have increased by only 49
percent over the same period. Click
here for details.
Income & Wealth
$120,000 -- Median net
worth of households with householders ages 70 to 74. Click
here for details.
$23,152 -- Median 2002
income of households with householders 65 and over, statistically unchanged,
in real terms, from the previous year. Click
here for details.
10.4 percent -- Poverty
rate for people 65 and over in 2002, statistically unchanged from the
previous year. Click
here for details.
Serving Our Nation
9.1 million -- Estimated
number of people age 65 and over who are military veterans. Click
here for details.
Jobs
4.5 million -- Number of
people age 65 and over who are still employed a ratio of more than 1-in-8
people in this age group.
Click here for details.
Education
Among the older
population, men are more likely than women to have a bachelor's degree or
higher education. Among people ages 65 to 84, 22 percent of men and 13
percent of women have achieved this level of education; for those 85 and
over, the respective rates are 17 percent and 12 percent. Click
here for details.
Marital Status and
Living Arrangements
Among the population 65
to 84, the majority of men (74 percent) are married and living with their
spouses, compared with less than half (45 percent) of women in that age
group. For people 85 and over, the corresponding percentages are much lower:
58 percent of men and only 12 percent of women. Click
here for details.
Voting
72 percent -- Percentage
of citizens ages 65 to 74 who voted in the last presidential election; that
is the highest rate of any age group. Click
here for details.
Homeownership
81 percent -- Proportion
of householders age 65 and over who own their homes. This compares with 68
percent for all householders. Click here
for details.
Population Distribution
Nation
71 -- Overall, the
number of men age 65 and over on July 1, 2002, for every 100 women in this
age group. For those in the 65- to-74 age group, the ratio is 83 men for
every 100 women and for those 85 and over, it drops to 43 men to 100 women. Click
here for details.
58,684 -- Estimated
number of centenarians in the United States on July 1, 2002. Click
here for details.
States and Counties
17 percent -- Percentage
of Florida's population that was 65 and over on July 1, 2003. Florida led
all states in this category. Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Dakota and
Iowa followed closely, at 15 percent each. Click
here for details.
15 percent -- Percentage
increase in the number of people age 65 and over in Nevada between Census
Day, April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2003. A state not traditionally thought of
as a retirement haven Alaska -- was close behind, with a 14 percent
increase. The next five states on the list -- Arizona, Utah, Idaho, New
Mexico and Colorado -- also are located in the West. Click
here for details.
3.8 million -- Number of
people 65 and over living in California on July 1, 2003, the highest total
of any state. Florida, with 2.9 million, was the runner-up. Click
here for details.
34 percent -- Percentage
of Charlotte County, Fla., population, that consists of people 65 and over
the highest such proportion in the nation. Florida was home to each of the
12 counties with the highest concentration of people 65 and over. (The
findings pertain to counties with minimum populations of 100,000.) Click
here for details.
21 percent -- Percentage
increase in the 65-and-over population in Douglas County, Colo., between
2000 and 2002, the highest such increase for any county in the country. (The
findings pertain to counties with minimum populations of 100,000.) Click
here for details.
Sports Activities
The most popular sports
activity among people 65 and over, by far, is exercise walking: 9.4 million
people in this age category engage in this activity at least six times a
year. The next most popular forms of exercise are swimming (3.4 million
participants), exercising with equipment (3.1 million) and playing golf (2.5
million). See Table 1247: Click
here for details.
Note from Census Bureau:
Some of the preceding data were collected in surveys and, therefore, are
subject to sampling error.
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