Q. Why are the number of age-55-to-64 adult-children households declining in my market area?
A: This is a question that we are being asked frequently when conducting senior housing market studies.
A decline in age-55-to-64 adult children households is being observed in many market areas and largely is due to changing demographics. Baby boomers currently are the largest senior cohort and represent 21% of the total population. In 2030, all boomers will be aged 65 or more years and, for the first time in history, older adults will outnumber their adult children.
Due to a significant decline in birth rates after the Baby Boom from 1946 to 1964, the generation following the boomers is a smaller group of households. Gen X, which consists of 19% of the total population, will represent the age 55 to 64 cohort starting in 2030. As a result, there will be an overall decline in the number of adult children households due to the shifting of generations through the various age cohorts.
Those demographic trends are going to have significant implications for older adults, their adult children and the senior living and healthcare services industry. The demand for housing, in-home caregiving, health and long-term care services is going to increase dramatically and put increasing pressure on service delivery systems, Medicare/Medicaid and an already strained staffing/work force situation. If the industry is going to be prepared for the coming wave of older adults, new and innovative service delivery systems and flexible living arrangements need to be explored.
And, although we are very focused on developing products and services for the boomers, we need to keep an eye on the upcoming future generation. Members of Gen X are or will be helping their boomer parents with future housing and healthcare decisions, and they are going to have their own unique preferences and expectations. The key to staying relevant in this constantly changing industry will be understanding the consumer’s existing and future needs and identifying flexible, efficient and cost-effective ways to satisfy those needs.
Lynne Moore is president of MDS Research Company Inc., a national senior living and healthcare consulting firm based in Fort Worth, TX, that has been serving clients for more than 50 years. MDS is a two-generation company — she is following in Jim Moore’s footsteps. She responsible for all MDS market research-related projects involving all aspects of senior housing and healthcare. Lynne Moore can be reached at (817) 731-4266 or [email protected].
A version of this column appeared as “You’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Answers” in the October 2023 print issue of McKnight’s Senior Living.
The opinions expressed in each McKnight’s Senior Living guest column are those of the author and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Senior Living.
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