The U.S. population of people 65 and older is now the largest in terms of size and percent of population, compared with any previous census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The group grew faster than the total population between 2000 and 2010.
According to the 2010 Census, there were 40.3 million people 65 and older on April 1, 2010, an increase of 5.3 million since the 2000 Census, when this population numbered 35 million. This age group represents 13 percent of the total population, compared to 12.4 percent in 2000.
Between 2000 and 2010, the 65 and over population grew 15.1 percent, while the total U.S. population grew 9.7 percent. Over the past 10 years, those aged 85 to 94, grew by nearly 30 percent, increasing from 3.9 million to 5.1 million. Those aged 65 to 69 grew by 30.4 percent to 12.4 million individuals. This group is expected to grow even more over the next decade as the first baby boomers start turning 65 in 2011.
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According to the report, the 75 to 79-year-old age group declined in population during the past decade, decreasing by 1.3 percent to 7.3 million people.
Women continue to outnumber men in the older ages, but men are closing the gap, by increasing at a faster rate than women, the report said. The group that experienced the largest growth rate from 2000 to 2010, 46.5 percent, was men aged 85 to 94. Women in this age group increased by nearly 23 percent. Men aged 90 to 94 had the fastest growth rate at 50.3 percent, while women increased the fastest in the 65- to 69-year-old age group at 28.2 percent.
In the 2010 Census, there were twice as many women as men at age 89, but overall, the differences in male and female mortality continued to narrow and more males entered the older population than they had in the 2000 and 1990 censuses.
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