May is Older Americans Month
May 09, 2014
Although baby boomers don’t want to be called seniors, some of them are now age 65 and older. Born between 1946 and 1964, boomers on their birthday’s this year will be turning between ages 50 to 68.
After meeting with the National Council of Senior Citizens, Pres. John F. Kennedy designated May 1963 as Senior Citizens Month, a time to pay tribute to older people across the country. In 1980, Pres. Jimmy Carter's proclamation changed the name to Older Americans Month.
To learn more about seniors, check out these facts and figures on seniors from the U.S. Census Bureau:
43.1 million
The number of people who were 65 and older in the United States on July 1, 2012. This group made up 13.7 percent of the population.
Projected population of people 65 and older in 2060. People in this age group would be more than one in five U.S. residents then. Of 92 million, 18.2 million would be 85 or older.
2.4 million
Projected number of baby boomers in 2060. Then, the youngest baby boomers would be 96 years old.
2056
The year when for the first time, the population 65 and older would outnumber people younger than 18 in the U.S.
Income and poverty
$33,848
The 2012 median income of households with householders 65 and older, about the same as previous year.
9%
The percent of people 65 and older – 3.9 million – who were in poverty in 2012.
$170,516
Median net worth for householders 65 and older in 2011, down from $203,015, in 2011 dollars in 2005.
14.8%
Percent supplemental poverty rate for those 65 and older, equaling 6.4 million people. Excluding Social Security would leave the majority of this population – 54.7 percent or 23.7 million – in poverty.
Military service
9.6 million
Estimated number of people 65 and older who were veterans of the armed forces in 2012.
Jobs
21.3%
Labor force participation rate for men 65 and older in 2012, up from 17.6 percent in 1990 and significantly higher than the rate for women 65 and older at 13.4 percent and 8.4 percent in 1990.
4.3 million
Number of full-time, year-round workers 65 and older with earnings in 2012, up from 1.3 million in 1992.
Education
82.6%
Proportion of people 65 and older in 2013 who had completed high school or higher education.
25.3%
Percentage of the population 65 and older in 2013 who had earned a bachelor's degree or higher.
Marital status and living arrangements
58%
Percentage of people 65 and older who were married in 2013.
26%
Percentage of people 65 and older in 2013 who were widowed.
Computer and Internet use
61.8%
The percentage of those 65 and older who reported living in homes with computers in 2011. In addition, 45.5 percent accessed the Internet either from home or elsewhere.
Voting
71.9%
Percentage for those 65 and older who reported casting a ballot in the 2012 presidential election.
Homeownership
80.7%
Percentage of householders 65 and older who owned their homes as of the end of 2013.
Where seniors live
18.2%
Percentage of Florida's population that was 65 and older in 2012, followed by Maine at 17 percent and West Virginia at 16.8 percent. Alaska had the lowest percentage at 8.5 percent, with the next states Utah at 9.5 percent and Texas at 10.9 percent.
49.3%
Percentage of the population in Sumter, Fla., that was 65 and older in 2012 – which led all of the nation's counties. Other counties were Charlotte, Fla., 36 percent, and La Paz, Ariz., 34.9 percent. Chattahoochee, Ga., 3.6 percent, had the lowest percentage.
Centenarians
53,364
The number of people age 100 and older counted by the 2010 Census.
20.7
For every 100 centenarian women, the number of centenarian men in 2010.
43.5%
In 2010, percentage of centenarian men who lived with others in a household, the most common living arrangement for this group. For females this age, the most common living arrangement was residing in a nursing home, 35.2 percent.
3.29
Number of centenarians per 10,000 people in North Dakota in 2010. North Dakota was the only state with more than three centenarians per 10,000 people.
Comments