Growing Older in Appalachia

Here are two observations from an interesting study on aging in the Appalachian region. These trends have implications for future economic development in the region.

* In 2000, 14.3 percent of Appalachian residents were ages 65 and over, compared with 12.4 percent of all U.S. residents. Northern Appalachia had the oldest population among the subregions, with 16.0 percent ages 65 and over. Pennsylvania and West Virginia ranked second and third among states in 2000 in the percentage of their population ages 65 and over; only Florida ranked higher.

* A more complicated picture emerges at the county level. The highest percentages of residents age 65 or older are generally found throughout the Appalachian portions of Pennsylvania, in eastern Ohio (where I grew up, by the way!) and northern and eastern West Virginia, and in southwest Virginia and western North Carolina.

Download the study report here.