2020 Profile of Older Americans
As part of the Older Americans Month, the annual Profile of Older Americans report is out which sheds light on the demographics and experiences of older adults living in our communities. The Profile was first posted by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Alison Barkoff, Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging, then reposted in the Southeast ADA Center news. This article contains excerpts from those sources.
Most of the report is based on information from 2019 (the most recent year for complete data), but it also pulls data from a variety of sources to look at the catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older Americans.
For example, the report captures the mental health toll of the pandemic on older Americans, especially toward the end of 2020, with people over the age of 80 reporting the largest increase in symptoms of anxiety and depression. Unemployment increased, and workforce participation decreased, for older adults during the pandemic. Most staggering, nearly 80% of those we have lost to COVID-19 have been older adults.
This year’s Profile reinforces the importance of the work to support the health and independence of older people. Some interesting facts from the report are as follows:
More than 40% of the baby boomers are now 65 and older, and the total number of older adults has increased by 36% in the last ten years. By 2040, that number is expected to grow by nearly 50% more.
The overwhelming majority of older adults live in the community -- only about 2% of people over the age of 64 live in nursing homes.
Most have at least one chronic health condition, and many have more than one.
Nearly 20% reported that they had a lot of difficulty with seeing, hearing, mobility, communication, cognition, and/or self-care.
While many receive support from family and other informal caregivers, this year’s Profile shows that many also are caregivers themselves – more than one million grandparents ages 60 and older were responsible for the basic needs of at least one grandchild under the age of 18.
Some interesting charts from the report are shown below. In the first chart below the percent of family households with the householder at age 65 or older, for 2019, shows that almost half have an income of $75,000, or more.
In the chart below, for persons age 65 and older, 73% of Men are still living with a spouse or partner and 50% of Women are still living with a spouse or partner.
In the next chart, the number of people who were age 65 and older was approximately 54 million in 2019. This number jumps to almost 81 million in 2040, and almost 95 million in 2060.
In the next chart, in 2019, 51% of people age 65 and older were concentrated in only 9 states shown in dark blue.
In this last chart, disabilities among those age 65 and older is shown, with mobility being the most common disability.
SUMMARY: The number of Americans age 65 and older continues to increase and is projected to reach 81 million by 2040. Approximately half of Americans age 65 and older live in only 9 states. The most common disability reported by those age 65 and older is limited mobility.
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