Poverty in old age, especially among the oldest old, those living alone and the most rural elderly. Preponderance of women with greater economic vulnerability. Because women have a greater survival rate than men, females constitute a larger share of the elderly population at all ages. In nonmetro areas, women represent 53 percent of the population aged 60 to 64 and 63 percent of the population of 85 and older. The oldest old are the most economically vulnerable, needing health, medical and other services in rural areas hard-pressed to provide them.
Older persons living alone are also considerably more likely to be poor than married elderly.
In 1997, eight percent of nonmetro elders 60 to 64 in married couples were poor and 32 percent of those who live alone were poor. The majority of elderly typically own their own homes. Nonmetro elderly have small or no mortgages, thus lower housing costs, than metro elderly. About 86 percent of nonmetro elderly homeowners in 1995 owned their homes, compared with 78 percent of metro elderly homeowners. The majority of elderly persons under age 85 assessed their health as good to excellent in 1998.