Characteristics of Baby Boomers

Selected Characteristics of Baby Boomers 42 to 60 Years Old in 2006 Background • The population born between 1946 and 1964 is commonly referred to as the Baby Boom generation. • Distinguishable by a dramatic increase in birth rates following World War II, Baby Boomers now comprise what is seen as one of the largest generations in U.S. history. • In 2006, Baby Boomers were ages 42 to 60. 2 Background • Understanding the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the members of this generation in the present day is essential. • The primary purpose of this presentation is to study the current characteristics of Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) by focusing on the population ages 42 to 60 in 2006. However, some of the current U.S. population ages 42 to 60 presented here is foreign born and was born in other countries during the same period. 3 Topics for Discussion About the Baby Boomer Population • • • • Population size Geographic distribution Demographic characteristics Socioeconomic characteristics 4 Past, Present and Future Population Size of Baby Boomers Baby Boomers by Sex: 1970-2030 Year Number 1970 2000 2006 2030 Percent 1970 2000 2006 2030 Both Sexes 72,376,007 78,310,361 77,980,296 57,793,135 Male 36,369,345 38,679,407 38,275,051 26,054,999 Female 36,006,662 39,630,954 39,705,245 31,738,136 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 50.3 49.4 49.1 45.1 49.7 50.6 50.9 54.9 Note: The data presented here do not exclude the effects of immigration and persons born in other countries living in the United States. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census 1970 and 2000 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Projections as of July 1, 2008 6 Population by Single Year of Age and Sex: 1970 85+ years 80 years 75 years 70 years 65 years 60 years 55 years 50 years 45 years 40 years 35 years 30 years 25 years 20 years 15 years 10 years 5 years Under 1 year 1.8 1.3 AGE Male Female 0.8 0.3 Percent 0.3 0.8 1.3 1.8 7 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census 1970 Population by Single Year of Age and Sex: 2000 85+ years 80 years 75 years 70 years 65 years 60 years 55 years 50 years 45 years 40 years 35 years 30 years 25 years 20 years 15 years 10 years 5 years Under 1 year 1.8 1.3 AGE Male Female 0.8 0.3 Percent 0.3 0.8 1.3 1.8 8 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census 2000 Population by Single Year of Age and Sex: 2030 85+ years 80 years 75 years 70 years 65 years 60 years 55 years 50 years 45 years 40 years 35 years 30 years 25 years 20 years 15 years 10 years 5 years Under 1 year 1.8 1.3 AGE Male Female 0.8 0.3 Percent 0.3 0.8 1.3 1.8 9 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Projections 2008 Geographic Distribution of the Baby Boom Population 10 11 Baby Boomer Population by Region: 2006 Rank 1 2 3 4 Region South Midwest West Northeast Number of Baby Boomers 28,060,126 17,569,066 17,421,670 14,929,434 12 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006 Top Five States by Baby Boomer Population Size: 2006 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 State California Texas New York Florida Pennsylvania Number of Baby Boomers 8,992,331 5,665,790 5,110,668 4,652,377 3,421,875 13 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates July 1, 2006 Top Five States by Percent Baby Boomer Population: 2006 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 State Vermont Maine New Hampshire Montana Connecticut Percent of Baby Boomers 30.1 29.8 29.7 28.7 28.1 14 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006 Top Five Counties by Baby Boomer Population Size: 2006 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 County Los Angeles County, California (part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA metro area) Number of Baby Boomers 2,416,110 1,337,165 964,063 875,095 762,119 Cook County, Illinois (part of the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI metro area) Harris County, Texas (part of the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX metro area) Maricopa County, Arizona (part of the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ metro area) Orange County, California (part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA metro area) Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006; December 2005 Office of Management and Budget definitions of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. 15 Top Five Counties by Percent Baby Boomer Population: 2006 (Counties with more than 1,000 Baby Boomers in 2006) Rank 1 2 3 4 5 County Clear Creek County, Colorado (part of the Denver-Aurora, CO metro area) Percent 38.0 37.1 36.6 36.5 Monroe County, Florida (part of the Key West-Marathon, FL micro area) Mercer County*, North Dakota Teller County, Colorado (part of the Colorado Springs, CO metro area) Gilpin County, Colorado 36.2 (part of the Denver-Aurora, CO metro area) *County is outside of both metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas as of the December 2005 Office of Management and Budget definitions. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006; December 2005 Office of Management and Budget definitions of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. 16 17 Top Five Counties by Baby Boomer Growth Rate: 2000 to 2006 (Counties with more than 1,000 Baby Boomers in 2006) Rank 1 2 3 4 5 County Flagler County, Florida (the Palm Coast, FL micro area) Percent 53.5 31.8 31.1 29.1 27.1 18 Lyon County, Nevada (the Fernley, NV micro area) Pinal County, Arizona (part of the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ metro area) Sumter County, Florida (The Villages, FL micro area) Pasco County, Florida (part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area) Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006; December 2005 Office of Management and Budget definitions of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. 2006 Demographic Characteristics of Baby Boomers from 2006 Population Estimates 19 Population Size by Sex: 2006 Age Group Number All Ages Children (0-17 years) Younger Adults (18-41 years) Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Older Adults (61+ years) Percent All Ages Children (0-17 years) Younger Adults (18-41 years) Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Older Adults (61+ years) Both Sexes 299,398,484 73,735,562 99,807,722 77,980,296 47,874,904 Male 147,512,152 37,734,707 50,787,951 38,275,051 20,714,443 Female 151,886,332 36,000,855 49,019,771 39,705,245 27,160,461 100.0 24.6 33.3 26.1 16.0 100.0 25.6 34.4 26.0 14.0 100.0 23.7 32.3 26.1 17.9 Note: The data presented here do not exclude the effects of immigration and persons born in other countries living in the United States. 20 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006 Baby Boomers: Age Distribution • In 2006, Baby Boomers age 42 to 60 totaled an estimated 78.0 million and comprised 26.1 percent of the total U.S. population. 21 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006 Age Distribution: 2006 5.0 4.5 Children (0-17 years) 4.0 Estimate (shown in million s) 3.5 3.0 2.5 Younger Adults (18-41 years) Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Older Adults (61+ years) 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57 61 65 69 73 77 81 85 89 93 97 101 Age 22 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006 Baby Boomers: Sex Ratio • In 2006, the sex ratio for Baby Boomers was 96.4. • This means that there were approximately 96 male Baby Boomers per 100 female Baby Boomers. 23 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006 Sex Ratios by Single Year of Age: 2006 110 100 Sex Ratio 90 0 80 70 60 50 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Age 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85+ Children (0-17 years) Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Younger Adults (18-41 years) Older Adults (61+ years) 24 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006 Hispanic Origin: 2006 * Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. 93.3 85.2 79.7 89.7 81.9 Percent Hispanic Not Hispanic 20.3 14.8 18.1 10.3 6.7 Total Population Children (0-17 years) Younger Adults (18-41 years) Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Older Adults (61+ years) 25 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006 Racial Composition: 2006 80.1 76.3 78.1 82.2 86.7 11.6 4.3 8.7 Percent 15.4 12.8 13.8 5.3 0.2 4.1 2.9 4.4 0.2 3.3 0.1 1.6 1.5 0.9 0.9 0.6 1.0 1.2 1.1 Total Population Children (0-17 years) Younger Adults (18-41 years) Baby Boomers (42-60 years) 0.1 Older Adults (61+ years) White alone American Indian and Alaska Native alone Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone Black alone Asian alone Two or more races 0.7 0.2 26 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006 Socioeconomic Characteristics from the 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) (The following are survey estimates and are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.) Benefits of Using 2006 ACS Data • Every year, the ACS releases single year estimates for geographic areas containing a population of 65,000 or more. • In 2006, the ACS began sampling and collecting data from group quarters (GQ) in addition to housing units. • For more information, please see Using Data from the 2006 American Community Survey at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/UseData/advance_copy_user_guide.pdf 28 Living Arrangements: 2006 • Living Quarters are classified as either housing units or group quarters. • Institutional Group Quarters “include facilities for people under formally authorized, supervised care or custody at the time of enumeration; such as correctional facilities, nursing facilities/ skilled nursing facilities, in-patient hospice facilities, mental (psychiatric hospitals), group homes for juveniles, and residential treatment centers for juveniles.” • Noninstitutional Group Quarters “include facilities that are not classified as institutional group quarters; such as college/university housing, group homes intended for adults, residential treatment facilities for adults, workers’ group living quarters and Job Corps centers and religious group quarters.” 29 http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/2006/usedata/Subject_Definitions.pdf Living Arrangements: 2006 • In 2006, 1.5 percent of Baby Boomers resided in a Group Quarters facility. • Of the Baby Boomers living in Group Quarters, 59.5 percent resided in an institutional GQ. 30 Living Arrangements: 2006 Group Quarters Living in Group Quarters (percent) institutionalized (percent) noninstitutionalized (percent) Total Baby Younger Older Adults Population Boomers Adults 18+ years 18-41 years 42-60 years 61+ years 3.5 4.6 1.5 4.2 50.8 33.8 59.5 84.4 49.2 66.2 40.5 15.6 31 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) Marital Status: 2006 65.6 53.2 48.7 42.0 56.3 Percent 26.6 17.0 11.1 6.7 2.4 Total 18 years and over 0.3 6.6 2.4 2.7 3.0 11.7 26.6 10.9 4.9 1.4 Older Adults (61 years and over) Younger Adults (18-41 years) Now Married Widowed Divorced Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Separated Never Married 32 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) Educational Attainment: 2006 33.8 30.7 28.5 24.6 Percent 32.0 29.8 29.8 28.9 28.8 24.9 20.8 20.4 23.3 16.2 14.9 12.5 Total 18 years and over Younger Adults (18-41 years) High school graduate Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Some College Older Adults (61 years and over) Bachelor's degree or higher Less than high school graduate 33 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) Nativity: 2006 15.3 17.8 14.3 11.7 Percent 84.7 82.2 85.7 88.3 Total 18 years and over Younger Adults (18-41 years) Native Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Foreign Born Older Adults (61 years and over) 34 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) Disability Status: 2006 (Civilian noninstitutionalized population) 92.3 82.9 83.3 62.2 Percent 37.8 17.1 7.7 16.7 Total 18 years and over Younger Adults (18-41 years) With any disability Baby Boomers (42-60 years) No disability Older Adults (61 years and over) 35 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) Civilian Veterans: 2006 23.4 Percent 10.4 10.9 3.8 Total 18 years and over Younger Adults (18-41 years) Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Older Adults (61 years and over) 36 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) Employment Status: 2006 77.9 74.1 71.5 61.8 Percent Employed Unemployed Armed forces Not in labor force 33.8 21.6 22.4 21.2 4.0 0.4 6.0 0.9 3.3 0.1 0.8 0.0 Total 18 years and over Younger Adults (18-41 years) Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Older Adults (61 years and over) 37 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) Selected Household Income*: 2006 Note: The age data refer to the age of the householder for the estimates of households. * In the past 12 months in 2006 inflation-adjusted dollars 96.1 80.3 Percent 91.8 83.2 47.2 41.6 26.8 17.4 8.1 Total 18 years and over With Earnings 3.3 2.2 11.1 10.4 11.3 6.9 5.7 Older Adults (61 years and over) Younger Adults (18-41 years) With Social Security Income Baby Boomers (42-60 years) With Retirement Income With Food Stamps 38 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) Baby Boomers: Poverty Status • ACS determines poverty status by comparing a person’s total family income in the last 12 months with the poverty threshold appropriate with that family size and composition. If family income is below the appropriate threshold, the person and/or family members are considered to be below the poverty level. • Please refer to ACS 2006 Subject Definitions documentation at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/2005/usedata/Subj ect_Definitions.pdf 39 Poverty: 2006 (Population for whom poverty status is determined) 14.7 11.6 8.9 Percent 9.7 Total 18 years and over Younger Adults (18-41 years) Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Older Adults (61 years and over) 40 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) Housing Tenure: 2006 (Occupied Housing units) 32.7 50.2 Percent 25.0 20.8 67.3 49.8 75.0 79.2 Total 18 years and over Younger Adults (18-41 years) Owner-occupied housing units Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Older Adults (61 years and over) Renter-occupied housing units 41 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) Highlights of Baby Boomer Characteristics • Baby Boomers still comprise a large portion of the U.S. population. Over one-fourth of the total U.S. population in 2006 was between ages 42 and 60. 42 Highlights of Baby Boomer Characteristics • In 2006, the majority of Baby Boomers: – reported race as White and ethnicity as non-Hispanic – are currently married – reported having some college or higher – are currently employed and working 43 Estimates and Projections Data For more information about the Estimates and Projections data please go to: • Population Estimates http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.html • Population Projections http://www.census.gov/population/www/projectio ns/index.html 44 Quality of ACS Survey Data For more information about the ACS sampling methodology and design, response rates, coverage and accuracy of the data please go to: • US Census Bureau Design and Methodology: American Community Survey (Technical Paper 67) http://www.census.gov/acs/www/index.html • 2006 Data Users Handbook: American Community Survey http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/Handbo ok2006.pdf 45 For More Information Visit Web: www.census.gov Age Data: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/age/ Age and Special Populations Branch Population Division U.S. Census Bureau Washington D.C. Email: carrie.a.werner@census.gov 46