More than 3 million older adults move every year, with those 85 and older among the most mobile, according to a new US Census Bureau report.
Warmer climates, amenities, proximity to family and disabilities were among the factors affecting moves by older adults between 2015 and 2019, according to data from the bureau’s American Community Survey. Those migration estimates and patterns may be important for businesses; federal, state and local governments; and policymakers, according to the Census Bureau.
Senior living providers also can use the information to understand the population of prospective residents and their desires to relocate.
Most moves are short distances
According to the report, 6.2% of adults aged 65 or more years had moved during the prior year, with those 85 and older slightly more likely to move (8.4%) than those aged 75 to 84 (6%) and those 65 to 74 (5.9%). Most older adults who moved (58%) made short-distance moves in the same county.
When comparing moves within versus between states, older adults were more likely to move to a different state (19.7%) than younger people (16.9%). More than 600,000 older adults had moved to a new state during the previous year. Of those, about 41.8% moved to a new state in the same region, whereas 58.2% moved to a new state in a different region.
State-to-state moves made up a larger proportion of overall moves for people aged 65 to 74 years (22.3%) than those aged 75 to 84 (17.9%) and those aged 85 or more years (14.5%)
Those state-to-state moves, according to the report, may reflect retirement migration for older adults choosing warmer climates or to be closer to family. Those 85 and older had the largest percentage of moves within the same county (64%) compared with all other age groups.
“At advanced ages, health concerns may force some people to move closer to or in with their children or to assisted care facilities,” the report reads.
Disabilities affect moving decisions
Older adults with disabilities made more short-distance moves than those without disabilities. During 2015-2019, about 18.2 million older adults (36%) reported at least one disability. As a group, older adults with at least one disability (8.3%) were more likely to move than those without a disability (5.1%).
Of those who moved, 61.8% of older adults with a disability made in-county moves, compared with 54.6% of those without a disability.
The Census Bureau report said those short moves may be due to a mismatch between a person’s housing needs and current housing situation. A disability also may lead some older adults to choose to age in place due to barriers to moving, even when they want to make a move.
“Understanding the migration patterns of older people with disabilities is important for policymakers and planners, as this group may require different community services,” the report reads.
Domestic migration patterns
The South had the largest net migration gain of older adults (72,900 during a typical year), outpacing the West with a net gain of approximately 8,800 older adults per year. The Northeast and Midwest had net losses of older adults from migration, at 46,800 and 34,900 net losses per year, respectively.
Among states, Florida gained the most older adults and New York experienced the largest loss from domestic migration, losing an average 23,420 older adults per year. Florida gained 53,150 older adults annually, more than twice the 21,440 older adults Arizona added and more than North Carolina (8,963), Texas (6,854) and South Carolina (5,525), which also were among the states with the highest net gains from the migration of older adults.
Other Northeast and Midwest states showing net losses of older adults to migration included Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey. California had the second-largest net loss of older adults from migration of any state, with approximately 19,200 people lost.
Those patterns, according to the Census Bureau, follow longstanding trends of older adults leaving the Northeast and Midwest for the South and West regions of the country due to warmer climates and amenities.
