The Carolina Population Center did a Carolina Demography post on the aging of our population.  Did you know that there are nearly 45 million individuals 65 years and older representing 14.5 percent of the population?  So says the US Census Bureau.

Just over 1.4 million of us older Americans live in North Carolina comprising just over 14.3 percent of the population.

This growth has been fueled by the aging of the large baby boom generation and the oldest of us began turning 65 in 2011.  And of course, greater longevity that we have achieved through medical science.

The share of the population at older ages will grow steadily in the coming decades.  By 2035, most than 1 in 5 residents of both North Carolina and the United States will be 65 or older.

North Carolina is projected to have 2.5 million residents 65 and older in 2035.

Our community will be home to a good number of older North Carolinians.  So, the question we need to be asking today is how do we as a community prepare?

We need to think about medical needs, recreational services, training our public service professionals to deal with this population, developing new housing or retrofitting our existing stock, developing retirement communities, addressing transportation needs, updating tax policies, and many other things that we need to do or should do.

This is a great time to have a community conversation about our future needs.  Good advance planning is a requirement.  After all, that future will be here before you know it.

 

— Fred Black

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