Baby boomers have changed the face of the U.S. population for more than 70 years and continue to do so as more enter their senior years, a demographic shift often referred to as a “gray tsunami.”
Knowing about the number of people age 65 and older is important for tribal, local, state and federal lawmakers. They will use 2020 Census statistics to help decide how to spend billions of dollars annually in federal funds on critical public services for the next 10 years.
Baby boomers have changed the face of the U.S. population for more than 70 years and continue to do so as more enter their senior years, a demographic shift often referred to as a “gray tsunami.”
Born after World War II, from 1946 to 1964, the oldest boomers will turn 74 next year. When the last census was taken in 2010, the oldest had not even turned 65. Since then, about 10,000 a day have crossed that age threshold and by 2030, all boomers will be at least age 65.
“Data from the 2020 Census will show the impact of the baby boomers on America’s population age structure,” said Wan He, head of Aging Research Programs for the Population Division of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Knowing about the number of people age 65 and older is important for tribal, local, state and federal lawmakers. They will use 2020 Census statistics to help decide how to spend billions of dollars annually in federal funds on critical public services for the next 10 years.
Everyone uses roads, hospitals and emergency services but some state and federal programs target specifically older populations — such as money for senior citizen centers, job-training programs, and Medicare Part B health insurance.
“The census is really important to us in the aging community,” said John Haaga, of the National Institute on Aging in Washington, D.C. “It’s our only way to figure out how things are different across the country, what areas are aging faster, where elderly disabled people live, or where older people are concen- trated, like Appalachia or West Virginia, because young people are leaving for the cities.” Older people are remaining behind there.
By using Census Bureau statistics and its geographic information system, analysts and community planners can get a refined picture of where older Amer- icans live and how close they are to the services they need. That helps lawmakers or businesspeople decide where to open health clinics or senior citizen centers, among other services.
“As boomers age through their 60s, 70s, 80s and increasingly beyond, the ‘big bulge’ of the boomer generation will contribute to the overall aging of the U.S. population in coming decades,” said Stella Ogunwole, a demographic statistician with the Census Bureau. “The older population is becoming even more significant,” she said.
But aging boomers are not the only reason the nation’s population is getting older overall. Longer lives — in part due to better health care — and record low birth rates among young women are also major factors, according to Haaga.
Older adults are projected to outnumber children under age 18 for the first time in U.S. history by 2034, according to Census Bureau projections.