Castle Rock – Bill Kelly moved to Douglas County four years ago for the most beautiful Colorado scenery he could imagine – the faces of his grandchildren.
And, “with the weather we’ve had the past year, why go to Florida?” said the 73-year-old military retiree.
Kelly serves as treasurer of the Castle Rock Senior Center, a facility now strained by the town’s surge in older residents.
Three Colorado counties – Douglas, Park and Summit – were among seven across the country that saw the number of their senior residents double between 1990 and 2000, according to a census report, “65+ in the United States,” released Thursday.
“Some places are seeing a rapid increase in the age of their populations because (younger) families are leaving,” said Richard Suzman, director of the behavioral and social research program at the National Institute on Aging, which commissioned the report. “In other (places), retirees are moving to be closer to their children and grandchildren.”
The other counties where the senior population doubled during the 1990s were Nye, Nev.; Sumter, Fla.; and James City and Prince William, both in Virginia.
The population of America’s retirees is expected to double by 2030.
Overall, population growth has driven the increase in older residents, said Sue Bozinovski, the director of the Denver Regional Council of Governments’ Area Agency on Aging who has worked with Colorado seniors on a state and regional level for more than 20 years.
The report is a harbinger for the state, she said,
“Colorado is such a desirable place to live,” Bozinovski said. “Right now we have to start thinking about the number of baby boomers and younger who want to stay here. It’s called ‘aging in place.”‘
In Summit and Park counties, the rate of growth in the number of seniors matched the overall population growth. In Douglas County, the growth in seniors lagged its overall boom, which saw the county rank among the highest in the U.S. in population growth and median income.
Between 1990 and 2000, Doug las County grew from 60,391 residents to 175,766. The county’s 7,322 residents older than 65 made up 4.2 percent of the entire population – or about one-third of the national average.
“We’re still a pretty ‘young’ state,” Bozinovski said.
Colorado ranked 48th in the nation for the ratio of those older than 65 to the overall population. The state’s 416,073 seniors represent only 9.7 percent of the entire population, down from 10 percent in 1990.
Only Georgia (9.6 percent), Utah (8.5 percent) and Alaska (5.7 percent) trailed. The national ranking includes the District of Columbia.
Florida has the most seniors, representing 17.6 percent of its population, with more than 2.8 million people 65 or older.
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-820-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com.
