Forbes.com dubs it the "gray wave," where the senior population is spiking the most in some of the nation's biggest cities. Since 2000, the overall senior population has risen 29 percent compared to... the overall population growth of 12 percent.
Why the surge? The large baby boom generation is reaching 65 years old, but also the U.S. fertility rate has fallen significantly in recent decades.
"When seniors do decide to move, they can have a disproportionate impact on metropolitan economies because of their relative affluence," Forbes.com notes in a recent article. Indeed, households over the age of 65 have a net worth that is 2.5 times the national average, according to Census Bureau. What's more, seniors over the age of 62 were far less hampered by the housing crisis than younger households, and their incomes have risen more during the economic recovery, according to St. Louis Federal Reserve research.
Forbes.com recently took a look at the cities that are "going gray the fastest." It analyzed the change from 2000 through 2013 in the share of seniors in the populations of the largest metro areas in the country — areas with more than 1 million residents.
Retirement haven Florida continues to boast the highest concentration of seniors, with Tampa-St. Petersburg topping the metro list with the highest share of seniors in its population, at 18.2 percent. Miami also had one of the highest shares of seniors, with 16.7 percent of its population over 65. Other big senior havens fell in the Northeast and Midwest, with Pittsburgh the second most senior region by city breakdown, at 18 percent of its population. Other big cities followed, such as Cleveland; Rochester, N.Y.; Providence; Hartford; St. Louis and Detroit.
But some cities are seeing their senior populations rapidly growing. Forbes.com notes the following metros that have seen some of the largest jumps in their senior populations from 2000 through 2013.
• Atlanta
Population over 65 (2013): 572,534
Increase in senior population from 2000-2013: 73.5%
• Raleigh, N.C.
Population over 65 (2013): 124,285
Increase in senior population from 2000-2013: 96%
• Austin, Texas
Population over 65 (2013): 172,476
Increase in senior population from 2000-2013: 91.7%
• San Jose, Calif.
Population over 65 (2013): 229,062
Increase in senior population from 2000-2013: 40.1%
• Denver
Population over 65 (2013): 304,698
Increase in senior population from 2000-2013: 57.1%
• Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
Population over 65 (2013): 676,537
Increase in senior population from 2000-2013: 64.4%
• Jacksonville, Fla.
Population over 65 (2013): 191,000
Increase in senior population from 2000-2013: 54.2%
Source: “Aging America: The U.S. Cities Going Gray the Fastest,” Forbes.com (Oct. 31, 2014)
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