The number of centenarians — people aged 100 or older — in the U.S. grew by 50% from the 2010 Census to the 2020 count, per a new Census Bureau analysis.
Why it matters: The Bureau's new deep dive offers a comprehensive look at one of America's fastest-growing demographics, who represent a triumph of medical and scientific advancements but also have unique caretaking needs.
Driving the news: The 2020 Census counted about 80,100 centenarians, up from around 53,400 in the 2010 version.
- "The 2020 Census demonstrated the largest recent census-to-census percentage increase in the number of centenarians," per the Bureau's report.
- As of 2020, there were 2.4 centenarians for every 10,000 U.S. residents overall.
By the numbers: Hawai'i (4.4 centenarians for every 10,000 residents), Rhode Island (4.0) and South Dakota (3.9) had the highest rates of centenarians per their overall populations as of 2020.
- Utah (1.0), Alaska (1.3) and Nevada (1.4) had the lowest.
Between the lines: A whopping 78.8% of U.S. centenarians are female, the Census Bureau says — which tracks with the life expectancy gender gap.
- About half of male centenarians live with others in a household, compared to around a third of their female counterparts.
- The 2020 cohort is slightly more racially diverse, with "white alone" members making up 74.6% of centenarians, down from 82.5% in 2010.
Caveats: Older people have been particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 — especially in the pre-vaccine era — and these numbers don't reflect the full toll of the pandemic.
- Moreover, efforts to get solid data on America's oldest residents have long been complicated by several factors, the Census report points out, including misreporting problems, data capture errors, proxy reporting (someone reporting information about someone else) and more.
The bottom line: Our elders are hanging around longer than they used to.
