Percentage of US population is 70 or older
Executive summary
About 17–18% of the U.S. population is age 65 or older in recent years, rising from roughly 55.8 million in 2020 to about 58–61 million by 2022–2024, and projected to reach roughly 22–23% by 2050 [1] [2] [3] [4]. Coverage in the provided sources centers on the 65+ cohort; available sources do not mention a single agreed percentage for "70 or older" specifically (not found in current reporting).
1. Why most sources report 65+, not 70+ — the headline number journalists use
Demographic reporting and policy analysis typically use the 65-and-older threshold because it corresponds to common retirement and entitlement-age benchmarks; the sources compiled here therefore report the share and counts for 65+, not 70+. Statista and ChildStats (citing Census-based series) show about 17.3% of Americans were 65+ in 2022 and Public Research Bureau (PRB) and America’s Health Rankings place recent estimates near 17–18% [1] [3] [5]. The U.S. Census releases counts (55.8 million in 2020 and rising) that analysts translate into percentages; those are the widely cited, comparable figures [2] [4].
2. Recent growth: what the numbers say about the size of the older population
The 65+ population grew very quickly between 2010 and 2020—reaching 55.8 million in 2020, a 38.6% increase over the decade—and continued growing into the early 2020s with Vintage 2024 estimates reporting roughly 61.2 million 65+ in 2024 [2] [4]. That numeric growth is driving the share of total population for 65+ from about 17% in the early 2020s toward projected mid-century shares of roughly 22–23% by 2050 according to Statista and PRB projections [1] [3].
3. Projections: the U.S. is still getting older
Demographers project the number and share of 65+ residents to keep increasing as large birth cohorts age, fertility stays relatively low, and life expectancy generally rises. PRB projects U.S. 65+ counts from about 58 million in 2022 to around 82 million by 2050, with the share moving from roughly 17% to about 23% [3]. Statista’s charting of ChildStats.gov data similarly projects a rise from about 17.3% in 2022 toward roughly 22% by 2050 [1].
4. What the provided sources do — and don’t — tell us about 70+ specifically
None of the supplied sources gives a clear, authoritative national percentage for people aged 70 or older. The World Bank, FRED, CDC FastStats and other datasets linked in the results provide age-65+ series or broader age group breakdown tools rather than a single 70+ headline [6] [7] [8]. Therefore, a precise national percentage for age 70+ is not included in the current reporting supplied here: available sources do not mention the 70+ share directly (not found in current reporting).
5. How to get the 70+ number and caveats to expect
To estimate the share age 70+, a user should consult detailed age-by-year tables from the U.S. Census Bureau’s population estimates or CDC WONDER single-year age data; the Vintage 2024 estimates and Census releases noted in these sources are the authoritative starting points [4] [9]. Users should expect small differences across data products due to vintage (year of estimate), whether the series is mid-year population, rounding, and whether the data include certain resident categories [4] [9]. The provided secondary sources (e.g., visualizations and private compilations) sometimes produce slightly different percentages because they use different vintage estimates [10] [11].
6. Why the distinction matters — policy and political implications
Counting 65+ versus 70+ matters for policy and political debate: 65+ is tied to Social Security and Medicare eligibility thresholds and is used for planning health-care, housing, and labor-force impacts; a 70+ count would concentrate more on very-old needs (long-term care, dementia services). PRB explicitly links rising 65+ shares to projected increases in Social Security and Medicare spending and frames policy choices around investments now to reduce future burdens [3]. Analysts and advocates therefore emphasize different age cutoffs depending on the policy question at hand [3].
If you want, I can pull the precise 70+ share by extracting single-year age counts from the U.S. Census Vintage estimates or CDC single-year age tables (sources referenced above) and convert them into a percentage with the latest vintage available in the supplied reporting [4] [9].