Cities With the Oldest Populations

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

By David Heacock

The year 2020 marked another decennial Census, the once-a-decade federal project of counting the U.S. population. The Census collects data on a variety of demographic indicators, giving the federal government and the public alike more information on how the population has changed and what that means for the future. One of the most impactful demographic trends across the United States in the coming decades will be the growth in the population aged 65 and older.

Much of the country is graying as more Baby Boomers, who were until 2019 the U.S.’s largest generational cohort, reach retirement age. The Boomers—more than 73 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964—began hitting retirement age more than a decade ago and will continue to age into the 65-and-up bracket until the end of the 2020s. Thanks to advances in healthcare and medicine, these older Americans are projected to live longer on average than their predecessors. According to the Census Bureau, by 2030, those aged 65 and older will constitute more than 20 percent of the U.S. population, and they are projected to remain between one-fifth and one-quarter of the U.S. population through at least 2060.

Another measure that puts this trend in context is the old-age dependency ratio, or the ratio of those aged 65 or older to the working age population (measured as those aged 15 to 64). In 2010, the national old-age dependency ratio was 20.8, meaning that there were 20.8 individuals over 65 for every 100 working age adults. By 2019, that figure had increased to 26.9. The Census Bureau projects that figure will be 41 by 2060.

A rising old-age dependency ratio means that those of working age increasingly carry the economic burden of care for the nonworking elderly. The U.S. is already seeing signs of these effects. A wave of retirements will leave labor shortages in some industries, while many of the occupations with the greatest growth potential are in health and social services, driven by the elderly’s greater need for care. Experts believe that GDP growth is likely to slow as a result of lost productivity and increasing costs of care. Government social insurance programs like Medicare and Social Security have seen their expenditures balloon as more retirees shift from paying into the system to receiving benefits from it. Nationally, within states, and at the community level, the U.S. will continue to experience the socioeconomic implications of an increasingly older population.

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Contrary to what one might expect, it won’t just be retirement destinations like Florida—the state with the highest share of seniors currently—who will feel the effects of an aging population. The population over 65 is growing across the country, and other states leading the list of senior populations are as geographically and culturally varied as Maine, West Virginia, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.

The same conditions are true of cities, and they will likewise experience the impacts of an aging population. To find the cities where these trends will be most apparent, researchers at Filterbuy used 2019 U.S. Census data to identify which metro areas have the largest share of residents over 65. The researchers also found the city-level old-age dependency ratios as well as the percentage of the senior population with a disability to understand where the burdens of care may be even higher.

Here are the cities with the largest percentage of the population 65 and older.

Large Cities With the Oldest Populations

1. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

   Wichita, KS

   • Percentage of population 65 and older: 14.4%
   • Total population 65 and older: 55,352
   • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 37.7%
   • Old-age dependency ratio: 24.0%

2. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

   Jacksonville, FL

   • Percentage of population 65 and older: 14.4%
   • Total population 65 and older: 127,758
   • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 35.9%
   • Old-age dependency ratio: 22.8%

3. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

   Baltimore, MD

   • Percentage of population 65 and older: 14.4%
   • Total population 65 and older: 84,165
   • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 38.5%
   • Old-age dependency ratio: 22.3%

4. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

   Tulsa, OK

   • Percentage of population 65 and older: 14.7%
   • Total population 65 and older: 58,686
   • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 33.4%
   • Old-age dependency ratio: 24.8%

5. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

   Las Vegas, NV

   • Percentage of population 65 and older: 14.8%
   • Total population 65 and older: 95,394
   • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 34.9%
   • Old-age dependency ratio: 24.4%

6. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

   New York, NY

   • Percentage of population 65 and older: 15.0%
   • Total population 65 and older: 1,242,566
   • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 34.6%
   • Old-age dependency ratio: 24.0%

7. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

   Colorado Springs, CO

   • Percentage of population 65 and older: 15.1%
   • Total population 65 and older: 70,512
   • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 31.3%
   • Old-age dependency ratio: 23.6%

8. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

   New Orleans, LA

   • Percentage of population 65 and older: 15.3%
   • Total population 65 and older: 59,203
   • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 35.9%
   • Old-age dependency ratio: 24.0%

9. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

   Virginia Beach, VA

   • Percentage of population 65 and older: 15.4%
   • Total population 65 and older: 65,405
   • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 31.2%
   • Old-age dependency ratio: 23.3%

10. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

    Tucson, AZ

    • Percentage of population 65 and older: 15.5%
    • Total population 65 and older: 82,197
    • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 38.8%
    • Old-age dependency ratio: 23.7%

11. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

    Louisville, KY

    • Percentage of population 65 and older: 15.6%
    • Total population 65 and older: 95,530
    • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 34.8%
    • Old-age dependency ratio: 25.5%

12. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

    San Francisco, CA

    • Percentage of population 65 and older: 15.9%
    • Total population 65 and older: 139,273
    • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 34.2%
    • Old-age dependency ratio: 22.7%

13. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

    Albuquerque, NM

    • Percentage of population 65 and older: 16.2%
    • Total population 65 and older: 90,429
    • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 33.4%
    • Old-age dependency ratio: 26.5%

14. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

    Mesa, AZ

    • Percentage of population 65 and older: 16.5%
    • Total population 65 and older: 85,337
    • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 31.9%
    • Old-age dependency ratio: 28.5%

15. Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

    Miami, FL

    • Percentage of population 65 and older: 17.5%
    • Total population 65 and older: 81,251
    • Percentage of population 65 and older with a disability: 34.6%
    • Old-age dependency ratio: 27.1%

Methodology & Detailed Findings

Researchers used the most recent population data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. Cities were ranked according to the percentage of the population 65 and older. Researchers also calculated the total population 65 and older, the percentage of the population 65 and older with a disability, and the old-age dependency ratio for each city. For relevance, only cities with at least 100,000 residents were included in the report. Cities were also grouped into the following cohorts based on population:

• Small cities: 100,000–149,999 residents
• Midsize cities: 150,000–349,999 residents
• Large cities: 350,000 residents or more