The U.S. Census Bureau has released a new report showing that the number of centenarians—individuals aged 100 and older—increased by 50% over the past decade, rising from 53,364 in 2010 to 80,139 in 2020. Despite representing only a small fraction of the population at two out of every 10,000 people, centenarians grew at a faster rate than other older age groups.
The “Centenarians: 2020” report examines characteristics such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, living arrangements, and geographic distribution based on data from the 2020 Census. It compares these characteristics with those of other older adults to highlight how centenarians differ.
Among its findings is that in 2020, women made up nearly four out of five centenarians (78.8%), although this share declined slightly from 82.8% in 2010. The male centenarian population grew by more than double the rate for females—85.3% compared to 42.9%. The group also became somewhat more racially diverse and male during this period; however, Black or African American alone centenarians decreased as a proportion from 12.2% to 10.3%.
Geographically, the Northeast region had the highest concentration of centenarians at just over three per every ten thousand residents (3.19). Hawaii led all states with more than four centenarians per ten thousand people (4.44), while Puerto Rico also exceeded this threshold (4.14). No state fell below one centenarian per ten thousand people; Utah and Alaska were closest with rates just above one.
Patterns among where elderly populations live showed some distinctions between different age brackets: high proportions of centenarians were found mainly in Midwest and Northeast states—similar to trends among those aged 85-99 but differing from patterns seen for those aged 65-84.
The report also details living arrangements: female centenarians were much more likely than males to live alone or reside in group settings such as nursing homes—66.2% versus about half (50.3%) for males. Nearly half (49.7%) of male centenarians lived with others in a household compared to about one-third (33.8%) of females.
In terms of racial and ethnic diversity within living situations, greater diversity was found among those living with others in households compared to those living alone or in nursing homes; Hispanic or Latino, Asian alone, and “All Other Races” groups each had over sixty percent residing with others in households.
According to the Census Bureau: “In 2020, female centenarians lived alone without familiar household members to a much greater extent than male centenarians.”
Another observation notes: “When we focus on group quarters living, such as nursing homes, female centenarians were about twice as likely to experience this living arrangement than male centenarians.”
This special report provides insight into changes within America’s oldest population segment using comprehensive census data collected nationwide.
