Every year, an annual summary of the latest statistics on the older population is compiled by the Administration on Aging (AoA). AOA uses the latest statistics from U.S. Census data and this data provides a Profile of Older Americans. The profile shows data on changes in demographics of the population over age 65. The profile is available in PDF format. Data tables are also available in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

A summary of the report indicates the following:

• In the United States, the population age 65 and over numbered 49.2 million in 2016. This represents 15.2% of the population, about one in every seven Americans.
• The number of older Americans increased by 12.1 million or 33% since 2006.
• In 2016, among the population age 65 and over there were 27.5 million women and 21.8 million men. This is a ratio of 126 women for every 100 men.
• At age 85 and over, this ratio increased to 187 women for every 100 men.
• In 2016, the 65-74 age group (28.6 million) was more than 13 times larger than in 1900 (2,186,767).
• In 2016, persons reaching age 65 had an average life expectancy of an additional 19.4 years (20.6 years for females and 18 years for males).
• The population age 65 and over has increased from 37.2 million in 2006 to 49.2 million in 2016 (a 33% increase) and is projected to almost double to 98 million in 2060.
• By 2040, there will be about 82.3 million older persons, over twice their number in 2000.

Read the full 2017 Profile of Older Americans here.