Where do seniors live in the United States? In this in-depth look at the senior citizen population by city, we’ve identified the areas in the U.S. with the highest percentage of people ages 65 and up. With senior-friendly environments, comfortable care, and all-around better service for retirees, these communities are homes for America’s elderly.
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States with the Oldest Population
Arguably, the state with the oldest population is Florida; residents ages 65 and older, make up the highest percentage of people there, but it, of course, depends on how you look at the statistics:
- By Percentage: The highest percentage of people ages 65 and over live in Florida. The senior population of Florida represents 19.36 percent of the total. It also ranks highly among the other factors: The average age in Florida is 41.8 years, ranking fifth in that category, and the population nearly 4 million, ranking second.
- By Median Age: Maine is the state with the highest median age at 44.3 years, followed by Vermont (42.8 years), New Hampshire (42.7 years), West Virginia (42.2 years), and Florida (41.8 years).
- By Total: California has the highest number of seniors in the U.S. with a total of 5,148,448 residents ages 65 and older. But that is likely because California also has the highest population out of the states. Second in line is Florida, with a total number of 3,926,889 seniors.
U.S. Cities with the Oldest Population
The following is a look at the senior citizen population percentage by city within the top 25 U.S. cities with the oldest population. Note that the city with the highest median age is also The Villages, Florida, at 66.4 years, and the city with the highest total population of seniors is of course the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan statistical area, possibly because it also has the highest population in the country.
- The Villages, FL – 54.18% seniors
- Punta Gorda, FL – 38.30% seniors
- Homosassa Springs, FL – 35.50% seniors
- Sebring, FL – 34.46% seniors
- Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL – 30.81% seniors
- North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL – 30.63% seniors
- Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL – 30.16% seniors
- Prescott, AZ – 28.92% seniors
- Barnstable Town, MA – 28.45% seniors
- Ocala, FL – 28.03% seniors
- Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ – 28.02% seniors
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL – 26.97% seniors
- Port St. Lucie, FL – 25.16% seniors
- Grants Pass, OR – 24.93% seniors
- Ocean City, NJ – 24.46% seniors
- Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL – 24.34% seniors
- Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC – 23.72% seniors
- Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC – 23.22% seniors
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL – 22.75% seniors
- Hot Springs, AR – 22.62% seniors
- Salisbury, MD-DE – 21.96% seniors
- Pittsfield, MA – 21.49% seniors
- Johnstown, PA – 20.90% seniors
- Asheville, NC – 20.82% seniors
- Santa Fe, NM – 20.81% seniors
Florida: Home of the Nation’s Seniors
With only two exceptions, Florida dominates the top 10 list of cities with a high senior percentage of the population. Retirees are known to love Florida, but because the baby boomer generation is getting older, the population of these senior-loving spots has expanded a great deal. The Villages has become the fastest-growing metro area in the nation, and experts report that, by 2030, Florida will nearly double the size of its senior population. Will Florida continue to dominate, or will other hot-spots like the suburbs around Phoenix, Arizona, or cozy communities in Massachusetts take over the title?
