FILE - A woman walks through the city on April 11, 2019, in Binghamton, New York. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Some 17% of the American population — or more than 1 in 6 people — were age 65 or older in 2020, and the aging population is projected to continue growing in the coming years.
A report published in late 2022 by the Administration on Aging, which operates under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said that percentage represents 55.7 million people.
The number of older Americans has increased by 15.2 million, or 38%, since 2010, compared to an increase of just 2% for the population under 65, according to the report.This, while the 65 and older population is expected to continue growing from 17% in 2020 to 22% by 2040, the Administration on Aging said.The report also notes how the older population is becoming increasingly older.
Since 1900, the percentage of Americans aged 65 and over has more than quadrupled — from 4.1% in 1900 to 17% in 2020. In 2020, the 65-to-74 age group (32.5 million people) was more than 14 times larger than this group in 1900 (2.2 million people), according to the report.