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Statistics
A Profile of Older Americans: 2003
Geographic Distribution
In 2002, about half (52%) of persons 65+ lived in nine states.
California had over 3.7 million; Florida 2.9 million; New York
2.5 million; Texas 2.2 million; and Pennsylvania 1.9 million.
Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and New Jersey each had well over
1 million (Figure 6).
Person 65+ constituted approximately 14% or more of the total
population in 9 states in 2002 (Figure 6): Florida (17.1%); Pennsylvania
(15.5%); West Virginia (15.3%); North Dakota (14.8%); Iowa (14.7%);
Rhode Island (14.2%); Maine (14.4); South Dakota (14.2); and
Arkansas (13.9%). In nine states, the 65+ population increased
by 20% or more between 1992 and 2002 (Figure 6): Nevada (63.8%);
Alaska (53.6%); Arizona (35.2%); New Mexico (28.4%); Colorado
(24.3%); Hawaii (24.0%); Delaware (24.0%); Utah (23.7%) and South
Carolina (20.7%). The ten jurisdictions with the highest poverty
rates for elderly over the period 2000-2002 were the District
of Columbia (18.8%); Mississippi (17.9%); Alabama (15.2%); Tennessee
(14.6%); North Carolina (14.0%); Arkansas (15.2%); New Mexico
(13.8%); Texas (13.7%); Louisiana (13.2%); and Kentucky (12.4%).
Most persons 65+ lived in metropolitan areas in 2002 (77.4%).
About 50% of older persons lived in the suburbs, 27.4% lived
in central cities, and 22.6% lived in nonmetropolitan areas.
The elderly are less likely to change residence than other age
groups. In the five year period from 1995 to 2000, 22.8% of older
persons had moved (compared to 47.7% of persons under 65). Most
older movers (59.7%) stayed in the same county while only 18.8%
(of the movers) moved to another state. The 85+ segment of the
older population had a much high rate of moving. During this
period, 32.3% of the 85+ population moved, 61.1% of them within
the same county.
(Data for this section and for Figure
4 were compiled primarily from the Census Population Estimates
for 2002 as well as other
Internet releases of the U.S. Bureau of the Census including
tables from the March 2002 Current Population Survey and “Internal
Migration of the Older Population: 1995 to 2000,” Census
2000 Special Report, CENSR-10, August 2003).
Figure 4: Persons 65+ as a Percentage of Total Population -
2002
Based on Census 2002 Population Estimates from the U.S. Bureau
of the Census
Figure 5: Percentage Increase in Population 65+ -- 1992 to 2002
Based on Census 2002 Population Estimates from the U.S. Bureau
of the Census
Population data is from the Census Bureau
Population Estimates and poverty data is from the Current Population
Survey, 2001, 2002, and 2003 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.
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