The fastest-growing group of elderly are those 85 years and older. The elderly population is expected to grow at a faster rate than other segments of the population until the year 2030. There were 37,000 Americans over the age of 100 in the 1980s. By the year 2050 the number of centenarians is expected to exceed one million. Most older men are married.
Most older women are unmarried.
The number of older persons who live alone is increasing. Most older persons live in the same location in which they spent most of their adult lives. The elderly have the lowest victimization rate for violent crime and theft. More older persons live in the suburbs than in central cities, and it is expected that older suburbanites will soon outnumber older persons who live in cities AND rural areas. The senior population of suburban Cook County is larger than the entire senior population of 18 other states.