The U.S. Census Bureau released a report showing that the number of centenarians in the United States grew by 50% between 2010 and 2020, increasing from 53,364 to 80,139 people who are at least 100 years old. Centenarians represented about 2 out of every 10,000 people in the country in 2020.
The growth rate for centenarians was higher than that of other older adult age groups during this period. The report is based on data from the 2020 Census and includes details about age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, living arrangements, and geographic distribution.
In terms of gender distribution, women made up the majority of centenarians at 78.8% in 2020. This is a slight decrease from 82.8% in 2010. The male centenarian population saw an increase of 85.3%, compared to a rise of 42.9% for female centenarians over the same decade.
The racial makeup of centenarians became slightly more diverse by 2020, with an approximately eight percentage-point decline in those identifying as White alone. However, this shift was less pronounced than among Americans under age 65. The share of Black or African American alone centenarians dropped from 12.2% to 10.3%.
Regionally, the Northeast had the highest proportion of centenarians at just over three per ten thousand residents (3.19). Hawaii led all states with more than four centenarians per ten thousand people (4.44), followed by Puerto Rico (4.14). No state had fewer than one centenarian per ten thousand; Utah and Alaska were closest to that mark.
Patterns in where older adults live showed that female centenarians were more likely to live alone or in group settings such as nursing homes compared to their male counterparts—66.2% versus about half for men (50.3%). About half (49.7%) of male centenarians lived with others in a household compared to only about a third (33.8%) of female centenarians.
Living arrangements also varied by race and ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino, Asian alone, and “All Other Races” centenarians were more likely to live with others in a household—over sixty percent for each group—while White alone and not Hispanic individuals were much less likely to do so.
The report highlights how the demographic profile and living situations of America’s oldest residents differ from other older age groups.
