selected characteristics of baby boomers 42 to 60 years old in 2006

Selected Characteristics of Baby Boomers 42 to 60 Years Old in

2006

2

Background

• The population born between 1946 and 1964 is commonly referred to as the Baby Boom generation.

• Distinguishable by a dramatic increase in birth rates following World War II, Baby Boomers now comprise what is seen as one of the largest generations in U.S. history.

• In 2006, Baby Boomers were ages 42 to 60.

3

Background

• Understanding the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the members of this generation in the present day is essential.

• The primary purpose of this presentation is to study the current characteristics of Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) by focusing on the population ages 42 to 60 in 2006. However, some of the current U.S. population ages 42 to 60 presented here is foreign born and was born in other countries during the same period.

4

Topics for Discussion About the Baby Boomer Population

• Population size

• Geographic distribution

• Demographic characteristics

• Socioeconomic characteristics

Past, Present and FuturePopulation Size of Baby Boomers

6

Baby Boomers by Sex: 1970-2030

Year Both Sexes Male FemaleNumber

1970 72,376,007 36,369,345 36,006,6622000 78,310,361 38,679,407 39,630,9542006 77,980,296 38,275,051 39,705,2452030 57,793,135 26,054,999 31,738,136

Percent1970 100.0 50.3 49.72000 100.0 49.4 50.62006 100.0 49.1 50.92030 100.0 45.1 54.9

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census 1970 and 2000

U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006

U.S. Census Bureau, Population Projections as of July 1, 2008

Note: The data presented here do not exclude the effects of immigration and persons born in other countries living in the United States.

7

Population by Single Year of Age and Sex: 1970

1.8 1.3 0.8 0.3 0.3 0.8 1.3 1.8

Under 1 year5 years

10 years15 years20 years25 years30 years35 years40 years45 years50 years55 years60 years65 years70 years75 years80 years

85+ years

AG

E

Percent

MaleFemale

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census 1970

8


1.8 1.3 0.8 0.3 0.3 0.8 1.3 1.8

Under 1 year5 years


85+ years

AG

E

Percent

Male Female

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census 2000

9


1.8 1.3 0.8 0.3 0.3 0.8 1.3 1.8

Under 1 year5 years


85+ years

AG

E

Percent

Male Female

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Projections 2008

10

Geographic Distribution of the Baby Boom Population

12

Baby Boomer Population by Region: 2006

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006

Rank RegionNumber of

Baby Boomers

1 South 28,060,126

2 Midwest 17,569,066

3 West 17,421,670

4 Northeast 14,929,434

13

Top Five States by Baby Boomer Population Size: 2006

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates July 1, 2006

Rank State

Number of

Baby Boomers

1 California 8,992,331

2 Texas 5,665,790

3 New York 5,110,668

4 Florida 4,652,377

5 Pennsylvania 3,421,875

14

Top Five States by Percent Baby Boomer Population: 2006

Rank State

Percent of

Baby Boomers

1 Vermont 30.1

2 Maine 29.8

3 New Hampshire 29.7

4 Montana 28.7

5 Connecticut 28.1


15

Top Five Counties by Baby Boomer Population Size: 2006

Rank CountyNumber of

Baby Boomers

1Los Angeles County, California(part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA metro area) 2,416,110

2Cook County, Illinois(part of the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI metro area) 1,337,165

3Harris County, Texas(part of the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX metro area) 964,063

4Maricopa County, Arizona(part of the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ metro area) 875,095

5Orange County, California(part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA metro area) 762,119

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates as of July 1, 2006; December 2005 Office of Management and Budget definitions of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas.

16

Top Five Counties by Percent Baby Boomer Population: 2006

Rank County Percent

1Clear Creek County, Colorado (part of the Denver-Aurora, CO metro area) 38.0

2Monroe County, Florida(part of the Key West-Marathon, FL micro area) 37.1

3 Mercer County*, North Dakota 36.6

4Teller County, Colorado(part of the Colorado Springs, CO metro area) 36.5

5Gilpin County, Colorado(part of the Denver-Aurora, CO metro area) 36.2

*County is outside of both metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas as of the December 2005 Office of Management and Budget definitions.

(Counties with more than 1,000 Baby Boomers in 2006)


18

Top Five Counties by Baby Boomer Growth Rate: 2000 to 2006

Rank County Percent

1Flagler County, Florida(the Palm Coast, FL micro area) 53.5

2Lyon County, Nevada (the Fernley, NV micro area) 31.8

3Pinal County, Arizona(part of the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ metro area) 31.1

4Sumter County, Florida(The Villages, FL micro area) 29.1

5Pasco County, Florida(part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area) 27.1


(Counties with more than 1,000 Baby Boomers in 2006)

19

2006 Demographic Characteristics of Baby Boomers

from 2006 Population Estimates

20

Population Size by Sex: 2006

Age Group Both Sexes Male FemaleNumber All Ages 299,398,484 147,512,152 151,886,332 Children (0-17 years) 73,735,562 37,734,707 36,000,855 Younger Adults (18-41 years) 99,807,722 50,787,951 49,019,771 Baby Boomers (42-60 years) 77,980,296 38,275,051 39,705,245 Older Adults (61+ years) 47,874,904 20,714,443 27,160,461

Percent All Ages 100.0 100.0 100.0 Children (0-17 years) 24.6 25.6 23.7 Younger Adults (18-41 years) 33.3 34.4 32.3 Baby Boomers (42-60 years) 26.1 26.0 26.1 Older Adults (61+ years) 16.0 14.0 17.9


Note: The data presented here do not exclude the effects of immigration and persons born in other countries living in the United States.

21

Baby Boomers: Age Distribution

• In 2006, Baby Boomers age 42 to 60 totaled an estimated 78.0 million and comprised 26.1 percent of the total U.S. population.


22

Age Distribution: 2006

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57 61 65 69 73 77 81 85 89 93 97 101

Age

Est

imat

e (s

ho

wn

in m

illio

ns)

Children (0-17 years)

Younger Adults (18-41 years)

Baby Boomers (42-60 years)

Older Adults (61+ years)


23

Baby Boomers: Sex Ratio

• In 2006, the sex ratio for Baby Boomers was 96.4.

• This means that there were approximately 96 male Baby Boomers per 100 female Baby Boomers.


24

Sex Ratios by Single Year of Age: 2006

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85+

Age

Sex

Rat

io

Children (0-17 years) Younger Adults (18-41 years)

Baby Boomers (42-60 years) Older Adults (61+ years)


25

Hispanic Origin: 2006* Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


14.820.3 18.1

10.36.7

85.279.7 81.9

89.793.3

Total Children Younger Adults Baby Boomers Older Adults

Population (0-17 years) (18-41 years) (42-60 years) (61+ years)

Perc

en

t

Hispanic

Not Hispanic

26

Racial Composition: 2006


76.3

78.1 82.2 86.7

12.8

15.4

13.8

11.6

8.7

1.0

1.2

1.1

0.9

0.64

.4

4.1 5.3

4.3

3.3

0.2 0.2

0.2

0.1

0.11.6 2.9

1.5

0.9

0.7

80.1

Total Children Younger Adults Baby Boomers Older Adults

Population (0-17 years) (18-41 years) (42-60 years) (61+ years)

Perc

en

t

White alone Black aloneAmerican Indian and Alaska Native alone Asian aloneNative Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone Two or more races

Socioeconomic Characteristics from the 2006 American

Community Survey (ACS)(The following are survey estimates and are subject to sampling and

nonsampling error.)

28

Benefits of Using 2006 ACS Data

• Every year, the ACS releases single year estimates for geographic areas containing a population of 65,000 or more.

• In 2006, the ACS began sampling and collecting data from group quarters (GQ) in addition to housing units.

• For more information, please see Using Data from the 2006 American Community Survey at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/UseData/advance_copy_user_guide.pdf

29

Living Arrangements: 2006

• Living Quarters are classified as either housing units or group quarters.

• Institutional Group Quarters “include facilities for people under

formally authorized, supervised care or custody at the time of enumeration; such as correctional facilities, nursing facilities/ skilled nursing facilities, in-patient hospice facilities, mental (psychiatric hospitals), group homes for juveniles, and residential treatment centers for juveniles.”

• Noninstitutional Group Quarters “include facilities that are not classified as institutional group quarters; such as college/university housing, group homes intended for adults, residential treatment facilities for adults, workers’ group living quarters and Job Corps centers and religious group quarters.”

http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/2006/usedata/Subject_Definitions.pdf

30


• In 2006, 1.5 percent of Baby Boomers resided in a Group Quarters facility.

• Of the Baby Boomers living in Group Quarters, 59.5 percent resided in an institutional GQ.

31


Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS)

Group Quarters

Total Population 18+ years

Younger Adults

18-41 years

Baby Boomers

42-60 years

Older Adults

61+ yearsLiving in Group Quarters (percent) 3.5 4.6 1.5 4.2 institutionalized (percent) 50.8 33.8 59.5 84.4 noninstitutionalized (percent) 49.2 66.2 40.5 15.6

32

Marital Status: 2006


53.2

42.0

65.6

56.3

6.7

0.32.7

26.6

11.16.6

17.0

10.9

2.4 2.4 3.0 1.4

26.6

48.7

11.7

4.9

Total Younger Adults Baby Boomers Older Adults

18 years and over (18-41 years) (42-60 years) (61 years and over)

Perc

en

t

Now Married Widowed Divorced Separated Never Married

33

Educational Attainment: 2006

16.214.9

12.5

24.9

30.729.8 29.8

33.8

28.5

32.0

28.9

20.8

24.623.3

28.8

20.4



Perc

en

t

Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some College Bachelor's degree or higher


34

Nativity: 2006

84.7 82.2 85.7 88.3

15.3 17.8 14.3 11.7



Perc

en

t

Native Foreign Born


35

Disability Status: 2006 (Civilian noninstitutionalized population)

17.1

7.7

16.7

37.8

82.9

92.3

83.3

62.2



Per

cen

t

With any disability No disability


36

Civilian Veterans: 2006

10.4

3.8

10.9

23.4



Per

cen

t


37

Employment Status: 2006

61.8

71.574.1

21.2

4.06.0

3.30.80.4 0.9 0.1 0.0

33.8

21.6 22.4

77.9



Per

cen

t

Employed

Unemployed

Armed forces

Not in labor force


38

Selected Household Income*: 2006


* In the past 12 months in 2006 inflation-adjusted dollars

80.3

96.1 91.8

41.6

26.8

3.310.4

83.2

17.4

2.211.3

47.2

8.1 11.1 6.9 5.7



Per

cen

t

With Earnings With Social Security Income With Retirement Income With Food Stamps

Note: The age data refer to the age of the householder for the estimates of households.

39

Baby Boomers: Poverty Status

• ACS determines poverty status by comparing a person’s total family income in the last 12 months with the poverty threshold appropriate with that family size and composition. If family income is below the appropriate threshold, the person and/or family members are considered to be below the poverty level.

• Please refer to ACS 2006 Subject Definitions documentation at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/2005/usedata/Subject_Definitions.pdf

40

Poverty: 2006(Population for whom poverty status is determined)

9.78.9

14.7

11.6



Per

cen

t


41

Housing Tenure: 2006(Occupied Housing units)

67.3

49.8

75.0 79.2

32.7

50.2

25.0 20.8



Perc

en

t

Owner-occupied housing units Renter-occupied housing units


42

Highlights of Baby Boomer Characteristics

• Baby Boomers still comprise a large portion of the U.S. population. Over one-fourth of the total U.S. population in 2006 was between ages 42 and 60.

43

Highlights of Baby Boomer Characteristics

• In 2006, the majority of Baby Boomers:– reported race as White and ethnicity as

non-Hispanic– are currently married– reported having some college or higher– are currently employed and working

44

Estimates and Projections Data

For more information about the Estimates and Projections data please go to:

• Population Estimateshttp://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.html

• Population Projections

http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/index.html

45

Quality of ACS Survey Data

For more information about the ACS sampling methodology and design, response rates, coverage and accuracy of the data please go to:

• US Census Bureau Design and Methodology: American Community Survey (Technical Paper 67)

http://www.census.gov/acs/www/index.html• 2006 Data Users Handbook: American Community Survey

http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/Handbook2006.pdf

46

For More Information Visit

Web:www.census.gov

Age Data: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/age/

Age and Special Populations BranchPopulation Division

U.S. Census BureauWashington D.C.

Email: [email protected]

selected characteristics of baby boomers 42 to 60 years old in 2006

Documents

baby boom population

population estimates

population ages

baby boomer population

population projections

census bureau

percent baby boomer

decennial census