Suburbs graying faster than cities
Date: June 20, 2007
By: Sam Roberts / New York Times
Source: The Detroit News
Senior baby boomers will put new demands on housing, health care, transit, social services.
America's suburbs, historically a haven for young families with children, are aging more rapidly than the nation's central cities as the first suburban generation grows older.
At the same time, there are early signs of a possible trend of wealthier and more educated older suburbanites moving to the cities.
Those findings, in a report released recently by the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan research group, suggest that in most places, the fastest growth in elderly populations will result from the aging of baby boomers already living there, rather than from an infusion of retirees.
The over-65 population in Georgia is projected to rise more than 40 percent in the decade beginning in 2010 as residents grow older, but only 3 percent as a result of migration.
Florida attracts the most elderly migrants. But the fastest overall growth of elderly people over the next two decades is projected for Georgia and Arizona, the slowest in Pennsylvania and New York.
The study forecast widening age disparities between cities and increasingly older suburbs by 2040 in, among other places, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
"Suburbs, which previously were considered youthful and family-friendly parts of America, will, as more seniors age in place, become a fast-graying part of our national landscape," said William H. Frey, a Brookings demographer.
Frey said the extraordinary growth in the number of Americans from 55 to 64 would fuel a "senior tsunami" beginning in less than four years when the first baby boomers turn 65.
The greatest growth in the 55-to-64-year-old group has been in the West and in Sun Belt metropolitan areas (including Las Vegas; Austin, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; Atlanta; and Phoenix) -- areas that, like the suburbs, were previously known for younger populations -- and in New Hampshire and Vermont, which have lured mobile workers attracted by the scenic beauty and small-town amenities.
From 2000-2010, the population in that age group is projected to rise across the board, ranging from an increase of 80 percent in Arizona to a still-robust 33 percent increase in New York.
Since 2000, the fastest growth in that population was registered in states that also recorded the most job growth. The slowest was in Rust Belt areas that had hemorrhaged jobs.
The new demographics of aging present unique opportunities and challenges, both for the elderly and for their neighbors. While New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco and Chicago, among others, may appeal to aging suburbanites, smaller cities and metropolitan areas are also marketing themselves as magnets for "suppies" -- urban professionals ages 65 to 74, who tend to be healthier and wealthier than older people.
Frey said the increasing share of the elderly in the suburbs would place new demands on housing, health care, transportation and social services.
By: Sam Roberts / New York Times
Source: The Detroit News
Senior baby boomers will put new demands on housing, health care, transit, social services.
America's suburbs, historically a haven for young families with children, are aging more rapidly than the nation's central cities as the first suburban generation grows older.
At the same time, there are early signs of a possible trend of wealthier and more educated older suburbanites moving to the cities.
Those findings, in a report released recently by the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan research group, suggest that in most places, the fastest growth in elderly populations will result from the aging of baby boomers already living there, rather than from an infusion of retirees.
The over-65 population in Georgia is projected to rise more than 40 percent in the decade beginning in 2010 as residents grow older, but only 3 percent as a result of migration.
Florida attracts the most elderly migrants. But the fastest overall growth of elderly people over the next two decades is projected for Georgia and Arizona, the slowest in Pennsylvania and New York.
The study forecast widening age disparities between cities and increasingly older suburbs by 2040 in, among other places, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
"Suburbs, which previously were considered youthful and family-friendly parts of America, will, as more seniors age in place, become a fast-graying part of our national landscape," said William H. Frey, a Brookings demographer.
Frey said the extraordinary growth in the number of Americans from 55 to 64 would fuel a "senior tsunami" beginning in less than four years when the first baby boomers turn 65.
The greatest growth in the 55-to-64-year-old group has been in the West and in Sun Belt metropolitan areas (including Las Vegas; Austin, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; Atlanta; and Phoenix) -- areas that, like the suburbs, were previously known for younger populations -- and in New Hampshire and Vermont, which have lured mobile workers attracted by the scenic beauty and small-town amenities.
From 2000-2010, the population in that age group is projected to rise across the board, ranging from an increase of 80 percent in Arizona to a still-robust 33 percent increase in New York.
Since 2000, the fastest growth in that population was registered in states that also recorded the most job growth. The slowest was in Rust Belt areas that had hemorrhaged jobs.
The new demographics of aging present unique opportunities and challenges, both for the elderly and for their neighbors. While New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco and Chicago, among others, may appeal to aging suburbanites, smaller cities and metropolitan areas are also marketing themselves as magnets for "suppies" -- urban professionals ages 65 to 74, who tend to be healthier and wealthier than older people.
Frey said the increasing share of the elderly in the suburbs would place new demands on housing, health care, transportation and social services.
Labels: Regionalism
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