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<br />NCAGING FACTS
<br />
<br />. The oldest baby boomers will retire in this decade
<br />. By 2011 baby boomers will be eligible for Medicare and low income eligible for Medicaid
<br />. North Carolina ranks 11th highest in proportion of poor among older adults
<br />. Older women will represent 59.8% of the 65 + age group and 74% of the 85+ age group
<br />. 76.5% of the 85+ women will be unmarried.
<br />. 15.3% of 65+ North Carolinians are African American
<br />. Minority older adults show a higher poverty rate and lower life expectancy
<br />. Birth rates have declined since the mid-1960s. In 1960, North Carolina's birth rate was 24.1 per
<br />1,000 population; in 1996 it was 14.3 per 1,000.
<br />. Increased life expectancy. Most of the increase results from babies surviving their first year of life,
<br />although there have been steady, small increases in the years after age 60, as well. As an exam-
<br />ple, life expectancy at birth for white males increased 14 years between 1930 and 1990, from 59 to
<br />73.
<br />. Our state is one of the more pdpular retirement states. As of 1990, we ranked third in terms of net
<br />migration among persons age 65+, numbering about 38,000 people.
<br />. 8,184 households age 60+ were without complete plumbing in 2000
<br />. The largest increase among the homeless between 2001 and 2002 in NC were among those 55
<br />and older. While the total pOPLllation of homeless reported by shelters increased by 5% during this
<br />period, the older homeless grew by 71%
<br />. In NC, 23.8% of all hOmeowners are age 65+, yet among older homeowners, over 61,000 reported
<br />incomes for 1999 that were belpw poverty. This figure represented 38% of the homeowners of all
<br />ages with income below poverty and exceeded the national average of 32.7%.
<br />. Among renters age 65+ who prbvided information, 53%, or almost 48,000, spent more than 30% of
<br />their household income on rent.
<br />. Currently NC has 6,800+ waiting for home and community care services.
<br />. A statewide survey conducted in 2003 found that one in four persons provide regular care or assis-
<br />tance to an older adult who has~ a long-term care illness or disability.
<br />. The proportion of Americans with obese and overweight conditions has doubled since 1980, in-
<br />creasing the risks for heart dise~se, high blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis-related disabilities.
<br />Today, 40% of NC 60+ are considered overweight, and another 24% are obese. Diabetes is a ma-
<br />jor contributor to heart disease, istroke, blindness, renal failure, and nontraumatic amputations in
<br />older adults, in addition to being the 6th leading cause of death. .
<br />. While generally 1 in 8 of our total population has hearing loss, the percentage increases to nearly
<br />half (45.4%) among those 75+. .
<br />. In 2000, NC's rural population (3,199,1l31) was almostas large as the one in Texas (3,647,539), the state with the larg-
<br />est number of rural residents in the nation. Not only was NC's rural population among the largest in terms of numbers,
<br />but the state also reported the highestiProportion (39.8%) of rural population among the 20 most popuious states in the
<br />nation.
<br />. In NC, 45.7% of the non-Institutionaliz.d civilian population age 65+ reported having one or more disabllties-47.5% of
<br />women and 43.2% of men, according (0 the 2000 Census. Research shows that the disability rates among older adults
<br />have been steadily declining. The heallh status of today's older adults has been favorably compared to that of their
<br />younger counterparts decades earlier.! Still, there is a significant and growing number of older adults who have some
<br />disabling conditions. As of the 2000 C~nsus, 1 in 4 persons age 65 and older living in the community reported having 2
<br />or more disabilities defined as "a long-fasting physical, mental, or emotional condition [that] can make it difficult to do
<br />activities such as walking, climbing stairs, dressing, bathing, learning, or remembering."
<br />
<br />Cenfralina A rea Agency on Aging
<br />Midfo~n Plaza Building - 1300 Baxter Street, SI<ife 450
<br />PO,Box 35008, Charlotte, North Carolina 28235
<br />Rhone: 704-372-2416 Fax: 704-347.'17/0
<br />www,cenlralina.org
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