The U.S. Census Bureau has released a new report showing that the number of centenarians in the United States increased by 50% from 2010 to 2020, rising from 53,364 to 80,139 people aged 100 or older. Despite this growth, centenarians still represent a small portion of the population, accounting for just two out of every 10,000 people.
The report, titled “Centenarians: 2020,” draws on data from the 2020 Census and examines characteristics such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, living arrangements, and geographic distribution. It compares these features with other older age groups to highlight differences unique to centenarians.
In terms of gender distribution, women continued to make up the majority of centenarians in 2020 at nearly 79%, though this was a slight decrease from about 83% in 2010. The male centenarian population grew more rapidly than the female population over the decade—by more than 85% compared to about a 43% increase for women.
The racial makeup of centenarians also shifted slightly between censuses. While most centenarians were White alone and female, there was an increase in both racial diversity and the proportion of men among this group. The share of White alone centenarians declined by about eight percentage points—a trend similar to that seen among other older adults but less pronounced than among those under age 65. Black or African American alone centenarians decreased as a share of the total from just over 12% in 2010 to about 10% in 2020.
Geographically, some regions stood out for their higher proportions of centenarians. The Northeast led all regions with roughly three per every ten thousand residents being at least one hundred years old. Hawaii had the highest state rate at over four per ten thousand residents; Puerto Rico’s rate was similarly high. No state had fewer than one centenarian per ten thousand people.
Patterns regarding where and how centenarians live were also detailed in the report. Female centenarians were more likely than males to live alone or in group quarters such as nursing homes—about two-thirds compared with half for males. Nearly half of male centenarians lived with others in a household; only about one-third of females did so.
Living arrangements also varied by race and ethnicity. Centenarian groups such as Hispanic or Latino, Asian alone, and “All Other Races” were much more likely (over sixty percent) to live with others in a household setting compared with White alone not Hispanic individuals (less than thirty-five percent). Black or African American alone centenarians fell between these groups.
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