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US Summary
Alabama
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US SummaryAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingThe United Health Foundation is proud to release the 2023 Senior Report, which provides a portrait of the health and well-being of older adults across the United States. Analyzing 52 measures from 22 data sources, the report features successes and challenges — including both some long-term trends that have reversed and some that persist — across a broad range of health measures. It also found notable disparities among the older adult population by race/ethnicity, gender, geography, age and socioeconomic status. Given the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic had on older adults, the findings emphasize the need to foster greater connectivity and community engagement among this diversifying population.
This year’s Senior Report finds recent shifts in long-term trends and highlights disparities in the health of older Americans.
- The early death rate among older Americans increased for the second consecutive year, breaking a long-term improvement. Since 2019, deaths among adults ages 65-74 rose 22%.
- The prevalence of frequent physical distress rose 9% from 14.5% to 15.8% between 2020 and 2021.
- There were continued improvements in key measures of older adults’ access to care, as the number of geriatric providers and home health care workers per capita both increased.
- The decade-long rise in drug death rates continued among older Americans. The number of drug deaths increased 43% nationally between 2016-2018 and 2019-2021. Opioid deaths were a major component of this rise.
- In 2021, 5.6 million adults ages 65 and older lived in poverty, representing a 10% increase since 2019.
- The number of senior centers per capita receiving federal funds from the Older Americans Act decreased 5% between 2020 and 2021 — a 23% decrease since 2019.
- The healthiest states for older adults were Utah, New Hampshire, Colorado, Minnesota and Vermont. Mississippi had the most opportunity to improve, followed by Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Oklahoma.