Our world is growing older—and fast. Learn key facts about aging and ageism, as well as how age intersects with transportation, housing and other areas of interest. Need a citation? Email info@agefriendlypgh.org.
Key Facts
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Demographics
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- Every day, 12,000 Americans turn 65.
- By 2030, we will be a “super aged” society, with 20% or more of our population ages 65+.
- By 2035, older adults are projected to outnumber children.
- 8 in 10 Americans want to age in place.
- Our region is the second oldest in the country, next to Palm Beach, Florida.
- Nearly 20% of Allegheny County’s population is 65+.
- Black men in our region can expect to live to age 64 while white women can expect to live to 78.
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Age Inclusion
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- Age stereotypes are internalized as early as age 3.
- Negative age beliefs take 7+ years off of our life.
- 80% of adults want to spend more time with people outside their own age group.
- Older adults (65+) are the fastest growing segment of our workforce.
- Teams that include older people are more effective than teams that do not.
- Among workers 50+, 92% are interested in learning new professional skills. 74% are comfortable being managed by someone younger.
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Transportation
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- Transportation affects our ability to access jobs, education, healthy food, social gatherings, religious services and health care—across our lifetime.
- More than 10% of older Americans use public transportation for daily activities.
- Nearly 25% of households in Pittsburgh do not own a car.
- Of our 130 municipalities in Allegheny County, almost 1 in 4 have low access to cars and low access to bus stops.
- More than 60% of 311 calls in Allegheny County are related to sidewalk obstructions.
- Locally, the most common situation in which older adults report fear of falling is walking on a sidewalk outdoors (61%).
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Housing
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- Nearly 9 in 10 Americans ages 50+ want to stay in their current homes as they age.
- The median income for American homeowners ages 65+ is $50,000. It’s $28,300 for renters. The median older renter has just $10,000 in net wealth.
- 56% of our County’s residents ages 75+ live alone.
- Among the nation’s 25 largest metropolitan areas, Pittsburgh tops the list for housing inadequacy. More than 11% of homes have structural damage.
- About 79% of our County’s homes have steps or stairs required to enter, and 61% are three or more stories.
- Almost 1 in 3 Black residents rate their neighborhood as “fair” or “poor” for older people.
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Digital Access
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- 90% of U.S. adults say the internet was essential or important during COVID.
- Over half of Americans ages 65-74—and over two-thirds of people ages 75 and older—lack confidence in their ability to set up and use digital devices.
- In Allegheny County, 29% of white residents 65+ and just 14% of Black residents 65+ rate their technology skills as “excellent” or “very good.”
- In Allegheny County, over 4,200 households—roughly 9% of the total population—lack home internet access.
- In Pittsburgh, 10% of households lack a computer and 13% lack home internet access. In some communities of color, 16% of households lack computers and 21% lack home internet access.
- The average website home page has over 50 accessibility errors.
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Dementia
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- Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life.
- Developing dementia is not normal aging. Some cognitive changes are a normal part of getting older, but brain health can be strengthened—and dementia risk lowered—through small daily actions such as regular exercise, a healthy diet and quality sleep.
- Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of cases. More than 6.7 million Americans—about 1 in 9 people over age 65—are living with Alzheimer’s disease.
- More than 280,000 Pennsylvanians are living with dementia. Almost 12% of Allegheny County residents ages 65+ are living with dementia.
- Older Black Americans are twice as likely as white Americans to have dementia. 80% say they face barriers to dementia care.
- Over 80% of Americans with dementia live at home and receive care from family members or friends. Fewer than 20% of people with dementia live in a memory care community.
- In Pennsylvania, 465,000 family care partners provide 822 million hours of unpaid care (valued at $13.7 billion) each year.
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Language
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- Sub out “elderly” and “seniors,” and replace with “older” adults, people or neighbors, since age is relative.
- Say “as our population ages” rather than “the aging population” to underscore that we are all aging. Aging isn’t something that other people do. It’s something we all do, from the moment we are born.
- Frame our older population as the asset it is: more people with diverse skills, interests and community ties.
- At work, avoid language that implies age as a qualification (“new talent,” “digital native,” “seasoned professional”). Skills and experience get the job done.
- Own and celebrate your age. You “look your age” because you are your age.
- When describing people, find better adjectives than “cute” or “adorable,” which perpetuate infantilization or comparisons of older age to childhood.
- Skip generational labels like “Boomers” and “Millennials,” which emphasize differences, rather than similarities. Celebrate age diversity and learning from one another reciprocally.
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