What was the percentage of US residents aged 70+ in 2020 and how has it changed by 2025?

1. The hard numbers we do have: 65+ surged in 2020

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the population age 65 and over reached 55.8 million in 2020, a 38.6% increase from 2010 — the fastest decennial growth for that age group since 1880–1890 — and the Census placed the U.S. among countries with 16.8% of the population aged 65+ ^[1].

2. Why the 70+ figure is not directly reported in these sources

The materials you supplied include authoritative Census pages and analyses that emphasize 65+ as a policy-relevant cutoff (Social Security and Medicare) and long-term projections; none of the linked items explicitly states the percent of U.S. residents who were age 70+ in 2020 or the percent for 2025. The Census data files referenced (population estimates and components through 2024) could be used to derive 70+ shares, but those specific calculations are not present in the cited excerpts ^{[2] [1]}.

3. What related sources say about older cohorts and projections

Population analysts and agencies consistently highlight rapid growth among older Americans and ongoing aging. PRB cited projections that the 65+ population will grow substantially through 2060 (from about 56.0 million in 2020 to 94.7 million in 2060) underscoring that older cohorts including 70+ will expand as baby boomers age ^[3]. The Congressional Budget Office and Census projection pages describe methodology and project aging trends but do not supply the 70+ point estimates in the provided snippets ^{[4] [5]}.

4. How you can get precise 70+ percentages from the authoritative files

The Census’s National Population Totals and the Vintage population estimates (listed in the provided results) contain age-by-year detail (including 70–74, 75–79, etc.) that allow an exact calculation of the share age 70+ for 2020 and 2025. The files for 2020–2024 and the population projections and postcensal estimates are referenced on the Census pages in your search results; they are the correct primary documents to compute the 70+ percentages even though the quoted snippets didn’t include pre-calculated 70+ shares ^{[2] [5]}.

5. Competing perspectives and caution about estimates

Different agencies use different population frames and methods: the Census Bureau’s resident population estimates, the Social Security area population used by CBO/SSA, and monthly surveys (CPS) used by organizations like Pew can yield slightly different totals and age-composition estimates. CBO explicitly notes its projections include some populations the Census resident counts omit and that projections changed after incorporating 2020 census data ^[6]. That means a 70+ percentage computed from one agency’s table may differ modestly from another’s — a normal, explainable divergence ^[6].

6. Why the 70+ share matters to policy and budgets

Analysts stress that older age cohorts alter dependency ratios, health-care demand, and fiscal pressures. For example, public commentary on aging emphasizes the growing ratio of beneficiaries to workers and that the 65+ share is already affecting program costs; the same dynamics intensify as the 70+ group grows, given higher average healthcare and long-term care needs among older seniors ^{[3] [7]}.

7. Recommendations for a precise answer

To get the exact percent of U.S. residents age 70+ in 2020 and the comparable figure in 2025, retrieve the Census Bureau’s age-by-single-year or 5-year age-group tables from the National Population Totals (NST-EST2024-ALLDATA) or the Vintage population estimates and sum the counts for ages 70+ divided by the resident population total for the target year; the relevant Census files are referenced on the National Population Totals page ^{[2] [5]}.

Limitations: this report uses only the provided search results; the sources quoted include clear counts for 65+ and references to available Census datasets, but they do not contain pre-computed 70+ percentage figures for 2020 or 2025 in the excerpts supplied ^{[1] [2]}.