From Mark Twain…
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
www.quotegarden.com
Number of Americans 65 and older
1900 3.1 million
1940 16.6
1980 25.5
2010 40.2
2020 54.8
2030 72.1
www.census.gov
Household income of 65+ year-olds (2007)
$0 – 10,000 3.3%
$10,000 – 14,999 4.1%
$15,000 – 24,999 15.6%
$25,000 – 34,999 17.5%
$35,000 – 49,999 8.2%
$75,000 and over 23.9%
www.aoa.gov
About half of the 37.9 million Americans aged 65 and older live in 9 states (2007)
California 4.0 million
Florida 3.1
New York 2.5
Texas 2.4
Pennsylvania 1.9
Illinois 1.2
Ohio 1.2
Michigan 1.2
New Jersey 1.2
www.census.gov
Life expectancy for those reaching age 65
Women 20.3 more years
Men 17.4
www.agingstats.gov
Average annual health care costs for Medicare enrollees (2004)
85 and over $22,000
75 – 84 $14,000
65 – 74 $9,000
www.cms.hhs.gov
Health care expenses for those 65 and older (2004)
35% Physician/Outpatient hospital
25% Inpatient hospital
15% Prescription drugs
14% Long-term care facility
8% Other
3% Home health care
www.cms.hhs.gov
Average annual rates for care facilities in the U.S.
Assisted living $36,372/year
Assisted living Alzheimer’s Care $51,204/year
Semi-private nursing room $68,985/year
Private nursing room $77,380/year
2006 Met Life Market Survey
Percentage of Americans 65 and over who reside in nursing homes
Less than 5% (most choose to age in place)
www.aginginplaceinitiative.org
Highest educational level of those age 65+ (2007)
20% Bachelor’s degree or more
72% High school graduate
www.census.gov
Healthy, active older adults perceive themselves to be 75 to 80 percent of their chronological age.
Aging Services of California
www.aging.org
Social Security benefits constitute 90% or more of total income for 1/3 of Americans over 65. (2003)
Social Security Administration
www.ssa.gov
Founded in 1958 for people 50 and older, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has over 40 million members and publishes the world’s largest circulation magazine.
www.aarpmagazine.org
From the Associated Press Stylebook for terminology about aging
Preferred Terms: Boomer(s), Elder(s), Middle-age(d), Older, Senior(s)
Most Disliked Terms: Baby boomer(s), Elderly, Senior citizen(s)
www.asaging.org
OXO tools, the groundbreaking trans-generational products, set a new standard when they were introduced almost 30 years ago.
15 – Number of designs when introduced in 1990
500 – Number of designs available in 2009
www.oxo.com
Emeritus members of the AIA California Council
1198 (average age 78)
www.aiacc.org
Percentage of Americans age 65+ who get their news online
35%
http://blogs.zdnet.com/ITFacts/?p=14067
Percentage of gamers age 55 and older
25%
Entertainment Software Association (www.theesa.com)
From Henry Ford …
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.”
www.quotegarden.com
Author David Meckel, FAIA, is Director of Campus Planning at California College of the Arts
Originally published 2nd quarter 2009, in arcCA 09.2, “Design for Aging.”
