Miami University

How many older people live in Ohio? How will these numbers change as the baby boomers age?

According to the 2000 census, Ohio had 1.5 million people 65 years and older. This was a 7.2 percent increase since the 1990 census. Ohio’s median age was 36 (50 percent of the state’s population were younger and 50 percent were older) in 2000, an increase from 33 in 1990.

It is estimated that between the years 2015 and 2050, Ohio’s older population will increase from 1.7 million to 2.9 million, an increase of 70%. The year 2050 is significant in that year the youngest of the baby boom cohort will reach age 85. It is projected that the proportion of Ohio’s oldest old, those individuals 85 years and older, will increase significantly. Between the years 2020 and 2050 the population 85+ will increase from a quarter of a million to over 1 million. The table below illustrates the projected increase in the population of Ohio’s oldest old compared to the more stable populations aged 65-74 and 75-84 between 2020 and 2050.



For further information on trends in Ohio’s older population, see Aging in Ohio: Population Aged 65+ 1990 and 2000 by County by S.A. Mehdizadeh, S.R. Kunkel & V. Wellin (2002).

For more information on projections of Ohio’s older and older disabled population, see Projections of Ohio’s Older Disabled Population: 2015 to 2050 by S.A. Mehdizadeh, S.R. Kunkel & P.N. Ritchey (2001).