The U.S. Census Bureau has released a new report showing that the number of centenarians in the United States increased by 50% between 2010 and 2020. The population of people aged 100 or older grew from 53,364 in 2010 to 80,139 in 2020, according to data from the 2020 Census.
Centenarians made up a small portion of the overall population—just two out of every 10,000 people—but their numbers grew faster than any other older adult age group during this period.
The “Centenarians: 2020” report provides detailed information on centenarians’ age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, living arrangements, and where they live. It also compares these characteristics with those of other older age groups.
In terms of gender distribution, women continued to make up most centenarians at nearly 79% in 2020. This was a slight decrease from about 83% in 2010. The male centenarian population increased by more than 85%, while female centenarians increased by almost 43%.
Racial diversity among centenarians also rose slightly. The share of White alone centenarians dropped by about eight percentage points since 2010—a trend similar to other older adults but less pronounced than among people under age 65. Black or African American alone centenarians declined as a proportion from over 12% to just above 10%.
Regionally, the Northeast had the highest concentration of centenarians at just over three per every ten thousand residents. Hawaii led all states with more than four per ten thousand residents reaching age one hundred; Puerto Rico had a similar rate. No state had fewer than one per ten thousand.
Living arrangements varied significantly by gender and race. Female centenarians were much more likely to live alone or in group settings such as nursing homes compared to males—about two-thirds versus half for men. Nearly half of male centenarians lived with others in a household; only about one-third of female centenarians did so.
Nursing home residency was twice as common among female centenarians (27.6%) compared to males (14.2%). Meanwhile, “living with others in a household” was the most racially and ethnically diverse arrangement for centenarians; over sixty percent of Hispanic or Latino and Asian alone centenarians lived this way.
White alone and not Hispanic individuals were less likely to live with others—less than thirty-five percent—while Black or African American alone centenarians were evenly split between living alone and with others.
The full report offers further details on how the nation’s oldest residents are changing demographically and geographically.
