Online Statistical Data on the Aging
Selected Statistical Tables Based on the 1990 Census
of Population and Housing April 1996
Introduction
This report presents 16 tables of statistical information on
selected characteristics of the Nation's approximately 40 million
Americans who are 60 years old or older. Their mobility, living
arrangements, level of education, racial/ethnic origins, marital
status, and income and poverty patterns are among the characteristics
summarized in these tables. The data shown in the tables are based
on the 1990 census. Specifically, they are drawn from special
tabulations produced by the Bureau of the Census for the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services' Administration on Aging.
The special tabulations were produced under the 1990 Census of
Population and Housing's Special Tabulation Program and were issued
in March 1994.
Some background on the origins of the data will place the report
in perspective. For the 1990 census, each housing unit in the
country received one of two versions of the census questionnaire:
either a short version containing baseline population and housing
information (such as age, race/ethnicity, marital status, type
of housing unit); or a long form containing those items on the
short form plus additional questions (such as items related to
primary language spoken in the home, other details about facilities
in the home, income, and mobility). Thus, the entire population
received the short-form items, while a sample of about one in
six housing units received the additional items on the long form.
All respondents were to fill out either the short form or the
long form and return it to the Bureau of the Census. Some of the
tables in this report reflect items from the long form, while
other tables reflect baseline items.
Like all statistical data, users should be mindful of limitations
in interpreting these data. The data in the tables represent the
responses of a sample of all older Americans who were interviewed
for the 1990 census. The data are estimates of the actual figures
that would have been obtained from a complete count. Therefore,
it is always possible that those sampled do not exactly mirror
the actual population of older Americans. For example, some types
of housing or households might have been under-covered or missed
entirely by the overall census, and thus would also have been
missing from the sample that was drawn from the census. Other
sources of error are also inevitable, such as errors in reporting
made by the respondent, recording errors made in interpreting
handwriting, data processing errors, etc. Rigorous standards governing
data collection and processing for the census ensure that such
errors are minimized.
The tables in this report present national data on mobility,
demographic characteristics, living arrangements, educational
status, income and poverty patterns, and primary language spoken
among the Nation's population age 60 and older. Data in most of
the tables are presented as frequencies and percentage distributions
across the aging population and broken down by age ranges. Tables
showing income patterns present data in dollars and income ranges.
From these tables a wealth of information can be gleaned. For
example, a user might wish to combine two categories of age ranges,
65 to 74 plus 75 to 84, in order to summarize information for
a large group of older Americans who are 65 to 84 years old and
who might be considered to be of retirement age but not among
the oldest of the elderly. Information about this group that might
emerge from examining the tables include:
- Three out of four individuals age 65 to 84 live in households
with a vehicle (a car, van, or truck) kept at home and available
for their use.
- Two-thirds of those who are age 65 to 84 live in family households
with at least one relative.
- Twenty-two million individuals age 65 to 84 (more than three-fourths
of the population in that age group) have neither mobility nor
self-care limitations, compared to 5 million in the same age
group who do have mobility and/or self-care limitations.
Each
table contains footnotes that define technical terms and help
the reader interpret the data.
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