The Silver Book: Chronic Disease and Medical Innovation in an Aging Nation

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Home > The Growing Older Population > Today's Older Population

There are 37 facts in this category.

Every day, more than 6,000 Americans celebrate their 65th birthday.
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Alliance for Aging Research. Independence for Older Americans: An investment for our nation's future. Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Aging Research. 1999. [ Permalink ]

In 2004, there were an estimated 60,800 centenarians (those age 100 and older) in the United States.
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Hing, Esther and Kimberly Middleton. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2002 outpatient department summary. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 23-Jun-2004. [ Permalink ]

Since 1900, the 65 and older population has doubled 3 times.
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Friedland, Robert B. and Laura Summer. Demography Is Not Destiny, Revisited. Washington, D.C.: Center on an Aging Society, Georgetown University. 2005. [ Permalink ]

During the twentieth century, the population of oldest-old Americans (those age 85 and older) grew from just over 100,000 to 4.2 million.
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National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "New Stroke Treatment Likely to Decrease Health Care Costs and Increase Quality of Life". 21-Apr-1998. [ Permalink ]

There were 36.3 million Americans age 65 and older in 2004, an increase of 3.1 million (9.3%) since 1994.
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About 1 in 8 (12.4%) of the population is an older American.
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From 1950 to 2004, the total U.S. resident population grew from 150 million to 294 million--an annual growth rate of 1%. During that same time, the 65 and older population grew twice as rapidly--increasing from 12 million to 36 million. The 75 and older population grew close to 3% faster than the total population, increasing from 4 million to 18 million.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2005: With chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. [ Permalink ]

Between 1950 and 2004, the U.S. population got older. During that time, the under 18 population fell from 31% to 25% of the total population; while the 55-64 population grew from 9% to 10%, the 65-74 population stayed at about 6%, and the 75 and older population grew from 3% to 6% of the total population.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2005: With chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. [ Permalink ]

In 2004, those age 65-74 made up 6.3% of the population and those age 75 and older made up 6.1% of the population.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2005: With chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. [ Permalink ]

Percent of population in five age groups: United States, 1950, 2004, and 2050
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2005: With chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. [ Permalink ]

Total population and older population: United States, 1950-2050
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2005: With chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. [ Permalink ]

As of July 1, 2005, there were about 78.2 million baby boomers in the U.S. Starting in 2006, 330 of them will turn 60 every hour.
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Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures 2007. 2007. [ Permalink ]

37 million (12% of the population) Americans were age 65 and older in 2006. This population grew from 3 million to 37 million over the 20th century. There were just over 100,000 Americans aged 85 and older in 1900, compared to 5.3 million in 2006.
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Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. Older Americans 2008: Key Indicators of Well-Being. Washington, DC: U.S. Government printing office. 2008. [ Permalink ]

Percentage of the Population Age 65 and Over, by County and State, 2004
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Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. Older Americans 2006: Key indicators of well-being. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 2006. [ Permalink ]

51% of non-institutionalized Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older in 2003 were between 65 and 74 years old; 12% were age 85 and older.
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Caplan, Craig, and Normandy Brangan. Out-of-Pocket Spending on Health Care by Medicare Beneficiaries Age 65 and Older in 2003. Washington, DC: AARP. September 2004. [ Permalink ]

Based on patients' reports, about 50% of U.S. adults receive all recommended clinical screening tests and preventative care, according to U.S. national guidelines.
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Schoen, Cathy, Karen Davis, Sabrina How, and Stephen Schoenbaum. "U.S. Health System Performance: A national scorecard". Health Affairs. Vol. 25, No. 6, pp. 457-475. [ Permalink ]

Based on 2000-2002 mortality rates for Medicare beneficiaries, there is a 33-percentage point spread between the risk-adjusted mortality ratios achieved in the best 10% of hospitals and the bottom 10%. If hospitals with mortality rates that are higher than expected brought deaths down to levels that were expected given their patient mix, the improvement would save approximately 17,000-21,000 lives per year.
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Schoen, Cathy, Karen Davis, Sabrina How, and Stephen Schoenbaum. "U.S. Health System Performance: A national scorecard". Health Affairs. Vol. 25, No. 6, pp. 457-475. [ Permalink ]

There were 64,658 persons age 100 and older in 2004 (0.18% of the population). This is a 73% increase from the 1990 figure of 37,306.
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Health Insurance Coverage of Persons 65+: 2006
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Administration on Aging. A Profile of Older Americans: 2007. Washington, DC: United States Department of Health and Human Services. 2007. [ Permalink ]

The population of Americans 65 years and older was 37.3 million in 2006-- 1 in 8 Americans.
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Administration on Aging. A Profile of Older Americans: 2007. Washington, DC: United States Department of Health and Human Services. 2007. [ Permalink ]

The population of Americans who will reach 65 over the next two decades, those aged 45-64, has increased 39% since 1996.
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Administration on Aging. A Profile of Older Americans: 2007. Washington, DC: United States Department of Health and Human Services. 2007. [ Permalink ]

Since 1900, the number of Americans ages 65 and older has increased twelve times--from 3.1 million to 37.3 million.
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Administration on Aging. A Profile of Older Americans: 2007. Washington, DC: United States Department of Health and Human Services. 2007. [ Permalink ]

Census estimates in 2006 showed an annual net increase of almost 500,000 in the number of persons 65 and over.
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Administration on Aging. A Profile of Older Americans: 2007. Washington, DC: United States Department of Health and Human Services. 2007. [ Permalink ]

In 2006, there was a 97% increase in the number of Americans aged 100 and older compared to 1990 (73,674 in 2006 compared to 37,306 in 1990).
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Administration on Aging. A Profile of Older Americans: 2007. Washington, DC: United States Department of Health and Human Services. 2007. [ Permalink ]

The baby boomer group now includes about 78 million Americans--27 million are ages 55–62 and 51 million ages 44–54.
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Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures 2008. 2008. [ Permalink ]

Americans 65 years of age and older numbered 38.9 million in 2008, an increase of 4.5 million or 13% since 1998.