Our goal is to help families find the means to pay for senior care by providing objective information and interactive tools on our ad-free, easy-to-use and comprehensive website. Read More
Disturbing Statistics about Long Term Care in the US*
Chance that an American today is over 65: 1 in 8
Chance that an American over 65 has no natural teeth: 1 in 4
Percentage of all federal domestic spending that goes to the elderly: 46%
Average annual health care costs for older Americans who earn more than $30,000 a year: $11,000
Average annual health care costs for older Americans earning less than $10,000 a year: $17,000
Percentage of persons 65 and older in 2007 who owned their homes: 80%
Average US home value depreciation since 2007: 30%
Ratio of women over 65 to men over 65: 1.37 to 1
Ratio of women over 85 to men over 85: 2.1 to 1
Chance that a senior citizen will become physically or cognitively impaired in their lifetime: 2 in 3
Chance that a senior citizen will enter a nursing home: 1 in 3
Chance that a patient in a U.S nursing home is sedated or physically restrained: 1 in 2
Average cost to stay in a US nursing home for one year: $76,680
Average number of days which individuals that require long term care, receive it: 904
Percentage of older population with long term care needs who live at or near the poverty level: 40%
Percentage of total long term care hours that are provided by unpaid caregivers: 84%
Percentage of Americans over 60 who live with a younger relative: 6.3%
Percentage of Japanese over 60 who do: 70%
Percentage increase by 2040 in the number of elderly requiring long term care that have no children: 50%
Number of centenarians (persons aged 100+) alive today for every one centenarian alive in 1990: 2
Projected number of centenarians in 2050 for every one centenarian alive in 1990: 31
US States with the highest concentration of centenarians.
| 1. | Iowa |
| 2. | South Dakota |
| 3. | Nebraska |
| 4. | Mississippi |
| 5. | Kansas |
Percentage of all humans who have ever lived past the age of 65 who are alive today: 20%
Number of persons age 25-64 in 2008 for every one disabled senior: 15
Number of persons age 25-64 in 2040 for every one disabled senior: 9
Average number of drugs prescribed each year to an American over 60: 16
Chance that a U.S. senior citizen reports having skipped medications or not filled prescriptions because of cost: 1 in 5
Chance an individual will have more $25,000 in out-of-pocket long term care costs: 1 in 5
Chance an individual age 55+ has long term care insurance: 1 in 10
Percentage of men over 65 that are married: 73%
Percentage of women over 65 that are married: 42%
Median income for men over 65: 24,000
Median income for women over 65: 14,000
Chance an American woman over 75 lives alone: 1 in 2
Percentage of unpaid or informal caregivers that are women: 75%
Percentage of white American seniors that consider themselves to be in very good health: 40%
Percentage of African American seniors that consider themselves to be in very good health: 25%
Average increase in the net worth of a white American senior from 1984 to 2005: $102,000
Average increase in the net worth of an African-American senior from 1984 to 2005: $10,000
Percentage change in the average net worth of seniors with college degrees from 1984 – 2005: 72%
Percentage change in the average net worth of seniors without high school degrees from 1984 – 2005: 0%
Increase in the average life expectancy of an American between 1900 and 2000: 30 years
Ratio of Medicare & Medicaid dollars spent in 1971 to 2010: $1 to $45
Percentage of leisure time Americans over 65 spend watching TV: 55%
Percentage of leisure time Americans over 65 spent exercising: 3%
*These statistics were generated using data from the following sources.
- AARP Beyond 50.2003
- American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
- American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Henry J. Kaiser Foundation. Long-term Care: Medicaid’s role and challenges
- IMS America
- Japanese Prime Minister’s Office
- Johnson and Uccello 2005; Wiener 2006
- Kaiser Family Foundation
- Kemper, Komisar, and Alecxih 2005/2006
- LaPlante, M.P., C. Harrington, and T. Kang. 2002
- MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home and Home Care Costs
- National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
- Standard and Poor’s
- The Urban Institutes Retirement Project
- U.S. Congressional Budget Office
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Census Bureau
Please note that the objective of this Eldercare Index is to raise awareness of the high cost of assisted living, Alzheimer’s and dementia care and nursing home care in the US.Through the use of statistics, we can draw attention in a fast and easily understood fashion. The primary objective of this website to help families find financial assistance for long term care.