{"id":28653,"date":"2016-12-21T12:21:52","date_gmt":"2016-12-21T11:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/?p=28653"},"modified":"2026-01-22T13:49:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T12:49:45","slug":"number-of-older-adults-in-the-usa-expected-to-surge-highlighting-need-for-accessible-housing-and-policy-improvements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/number-of-older-adults-in-the-usa-expected-to-surge-highlighting-need-for-accessible-housing-and-policy-improvements\/","title":{"rendered":"Number of older adults in the USA expected to surge, highlighting need for accessible housing and policy improvements"},"content":{"rendered":"

By 2035, more than one in five people in the USA<\/a>\u00a0will be aged 65 and older and one in three households will be headed by someone in that age group<\/strong>, according to Projections and Implications for Housing a Growing Population: Older Adults 2015-2035<\/strong>, a report released last week by the Harvard Joint\u00a0Center for Housing Studies.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

The number of households headed by someone over 65 will increase by\u00a066 percent<\/h2>\n

According to the report, as the baby boom generation ages, the US population aged 65 and over is expected to grow from 48 million to 79 million, and the number of households headed by someone over 65 will increase by\u00a0<\/strong>66 percent, to nearly 50 million.<\/strong> This growth will increase the demand for housing units with universal design elements such as zero-step entrances, single-floor living, and wide halls and doorways. However, only 3.5<\/strong>
\n percent of homes offer all three of these features.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Read more: The International Design for All Foundation Awards 2016<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe housing implications of this surge in the older adult population are many,\u201d<\/em> says Chris Herbert<\/strong>, managing director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. \u201cand call for innovative approaches to respond\u00a0<\/em>to growing need for housing that is affordable, accessible and linked to supportive services that will grow\u00a0<\/em>exponentially over the next two decades.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

8.6 million people will be paying more than half their income for housing by 2035<\/h2>\n

\"\"In the coming years, many older adults will have the financial means to pay for appropriate housing and supportive services that allow them to live longer in their own homes.<\/strong> However, many others will face financial hardships, particularly because their incomes will decline in retirement.<\/strong> Low-income renters are particularly vulnerable, notes the report, which projects that nearly 6.4 million low-income renters will be paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing by 2035.<\/p>\n

The report adds that 11 million homeowners will also be in this position by that time. In total, the report estimates, 8.6 million people will be paying more than half their income for housing by 2035.<\/strong> The report also projects that 7.6 million older adults will have incomes that would qualify them for federal rental subsidies by 2035, an increase of 90 percent from 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, however, we only serve one-third of those who qualify for assistance,\u201d<\/em> says Jennifer Molinsky<\/strong>, a senior research associate at the Joint Center and lead author of the report. \u201cJust continuing at this rate\u2014which would be a stretch\u2014would leave 4.9 million people to find affordable housing in the private market.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Read more: Infographics: Better home and community care for the elderly<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Older adults express a strong desire to live at home<\/h2>\n

\"\"The report notes that in many surveys, older adults express a strong desire to live at home for as long as possible<\/a>. Achieving that goal will require public and private action to support modifications to existing homes, take steps to address the affordability challenges facing both owners and renters, and adapting the health care system to enhance service delivery in the home. There is also a need to expand the range of housing options available to better meet the needs of an aging population and improve options for older adults to remain in their community when their current home is no longer suitable.<\/p>\n

\n

Read more: Ageing in place: how to adapt your home?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cRight now, more than 19 million older adults live in unaffordable or inadequate housing, and that problem will only grow worse in the next two decades as our population ages,\u201d<\/em> says Lisa Marsh Ryerson<\/strong>, president of AARP \u00a0foundation, which provided funding for the report.<\/p>\n

> View the full report<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Press release<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By 2035, more than one in five people in the USA\u00a0will be aged 65 and older and one in three households will be headed by someone in that age group, according to Projections and Implications for Housing a Growing Population: Older Adults 2015-2035, a report released last week by the Harvard Joint\u00a0Center for Housing Studies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":28659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,3352,110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-society","category-etudes"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Report-Projetctions-and-implications-for-housing-a-growing-population.png",644,393,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Report-Projetctions-and-implications-for-housing-a-growing-population-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Report-Projetctions-and-implications-for-housing-a-growing-population-300x183.png",300,183,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Report-Projetctions-and-implications-for-housing-a-growing-population.png",644,393,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Report-Projetctions-and-implications-for-housing-a-growing-population.png",644,393,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Report-Projetctions-and-implications-for-housing-a-growing-population.png",644,393,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Report-Projetctions-and-implications-for-housing-a-growing-population.png",644,393,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"SilverEconomy","author_link":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/author\/enredac26\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By 2035, more than one in five people in the USA\u00a0will be aged 65 and older and one in three households will be headed by someone in that age group, according to Projections and Implications for Housing a Growing Population: Older Adults 2015-2035, a report released last week by the Harvard Joint\u00a0Center for Housing Studies.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48504,"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28653\/revisions\/48504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}