It’s no secret that the older population is growing, more so since many baby boomers began to turn 65 years old in 2011. It’s not that all of a sudden America was graying. It happened over a period of time and now the latest American census shows that on April 1, 2010, there were 40.3 million seniors across the nation.
Those numbers are interesting for the fact that females handily outnumbered males at older ages, but now, that gap is beginning to narrow. For instance, in 2010 there were 90.5 males for every 100 females in the 65 and older crowd. Fact is that women outnumber males in the older demographics, per every single year of age, and that includes Arizona. Scottsdale alone has the highest percentage of those 65 years of age and older, with approximately 43,371 about-to-be retirees or actively retired individuals comprising 20 percent of the city’s population.
Arizona is not alone in the rapid growth of its senior population that utilizes Medicare and Medigap supplements to assist with medical expenses. Every region across the national has seen a significant jump in their elder populations since the 2000 census. The West leads with the most growth of 6.9 million in 2000 to 8.5 million in 2010. The Northeast boasts the greatest percentage of those over 65 at 14.1 percent, while the Midwest shows at 13.5 percent. Down South the numbers have increased by 13.0 percent and out West, by 11.9 percent.
Scottsdale also attracts older migrants from other parts of America, as does Surprise, Arizona, which may be a surprise for more than just one reason for its older residents. Surprise got its name from the first settler on the one square mile of farmland who was heard to comment that it would be a surprise if the town ever amounted to much. And the surprise was that it did amount to a place seniors wanted to live in their retirement years, significantly boosting the local population.
Arizona’s seniors in the 65-year-old age range, and older, need peaceful places to live and to have access and information for Medicare and Medigap supplements that suit their lifestyles and medical needs. No matter where older residents live in Arizona, they are always able to get the latest, up-to-date information on Medicare products.