How many senior citizens in america

This is the fastest growing age group of elders. Census Bureau predicts. Living Alone Of the older adults who were living outside nursing homes or hospitals in , nearly one third Older women are twice as likely as older men to live alone 37 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

In , 72 percent of older men lived with a spouse, only 42 percent of older women did. Living arrangements differ by race and ethnicity. Older non-Hispanic White women and Black women are more likely than women of other races to live alone 39 percent each, compared with about 21 percent of older Asian women and 23 percent of older Hispanic women.

The likelihood of living alone increases with age. Women Living Longer Older women outnumber older men, and the proportion of older adults who are female increases with age. Women are more likely to have functional limitations than men. Living with Chronic Conditions Chronic illness has replaced acute illness as the major health problem of older adults—and increasingly so as medicine evolves.

In , more than 80 percent of older adults had one or more chronic health conditions. By , that percentage had increased to 91 percent. In contrast, Source: U. Census Bureau, Vintage Population Estimates. While southern states are regarded as retirement magnets, states in the Northeast and Midwest have among the largest proportional shares of older adults. Migration, both internal and international, has a large impact on the distribution of older adults. States that have attracted older retirees, such as Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, and South Carolina, have larger proportions of older residents.

Many states in the Midwest and Northeast also have large shares of older adults, but for different reasons. As young adults in these states have moved south and west looking for educational and job opportunities, the older population is left to age in place. In contrast, California and Texas have been popular destinations for state-to-state and international migrants , which has kept their populations relatively young.

Click to view the full-size infographic. Arguably, the state with the oldest population is Florida ; residents ages 65 and older, make up the highest percentage of people there, but it, of course, depends on how you look at the statistics:. The following is a look at the senior citizen population percentage by city within the top 25 U. Note that the city with the highest median age is also The Villages, Florida, at