US Counties With the Highest Share Aged 65 and Over

3,218 US counties ranked by share aged 65 and over, from highest to lowest. First are Sumter County, FL (57.8%), Catron County, NM (44.5%) and La Paz County, AZ (42.2%). The middle one of the 3,218 has 19.7%.

What this measures

The percentage of all residents, children included, who are 65 or older. It is a share of everyone, not just of adults. The typical county is 19.7%, and four in five are between 14% and 26%. The extremes come from one big group living there, not from places that aged differently: Sumter County, Florida reaches 57.8% since The Villages retirement community is there. Chattahoochee County, Georgia is 3.3% since it is mostly Fort Benning, an army base, and Madison County, Idaho is 5.3% since it is a university town. Source: Census ACS 5-year.

For most measures, a national ranking mostly sorts places by income and by how urban they are. Each county’s own page compares it with the 50 counties most like it instead, which is often the fairer view.

The 100 highest counties

Rank	County	%
1	Sumter County, FL	57.8%
2	Catron County, NM	44.5%
3	La Paz County, AZ	42.2%
4	Charlotte County, FL	40.4%
5	Lancaster County, VA	40%
6	Jefferson County, WA	39.6%
7	Jeff Davis County, TX	39.1%
8	Storey County, NV	39%
9	Northumberland County, VA	37.9%
10	McCormick County, SC	37.8%
11	Ontonagon County, MI	37.8%
12	Sarasota County, FL	37.3%
13	Dolores County, CO	37.2%
14	Terrell County, TX	37.1%
15	Llano County, TX	36.9%
16	Sierra County, NM	36.9%
17	Citrus County, FL	36.3%
18	Towns County, GA	36.3%
19	Wheeler County, OR	36.3%
20	Alcona County, MI	36.2%
21	Custer County, ID	36.1%
22	Keweenaw County, MI	36%
23	Real County, TX	35.9%
24	Highlands County, FL	35.9%
25	Curry County, OR	35.6%
26	Ouray County, CO	35.5%
27	San Juan County, WA	35%
28	Sierra County, CA	34.5%
29	Meagher County, MT	34.5%
30	Hinsdale County, CO	34.4%
31	Highland County, VA	34.3%
32	Indian River County, FL	34.2%
33	Blaine County, NE	34%
34	Huerfano County, CO	34%
35	Aitkin County, MN	33.9%
36	Prairie County, MT	33.9%
37	Union County, GA	33.9%
38	Boyd County, NE	33.8%
39	Roscommon County, MI	33.8%
40	Collier County, FL	33.6%
41	Yavapai County, AZ	33.5%
42	Middlesex County, VA	33.5%
43	Quitman County, GA	33.4%
44	Kent County, TX	33.3%
45	Brunswick County, NC	33.3%
46	Presque Isle County, MI	33.1%
47	Thomas County, NE	33.1%
48	Leelanau County, MI	33%
49	Pacific County, WA	33%
50	Montmorency County, MI	32.9%
51	Hamilton County, NY	32.8%
52	Mora County, NM	32.7%
53	Jackson County, CO	32.7%
54	Custer County, SD	32.5%
55	Hickory County, MO	32.4%
56	Sanders County, MT	32.4%
57	Wahkiakum County, WA	32.3%
58	Clay County, NC	32.3%
59	Mathews County, VA	32.3%
60	Barnstable County, MA	32.3%
61	Menard County, TX	32.2%
62	Wheeler County, NE	32.2%
63	Polk County, NC	32.1%
64	Iron County, WI	32%
65	Mohave County, AZ	31.9%
66	Garden County, NE	31.9%
67	Cumberland County, TN	31.8%
68	Hardin County, IL	31.8%
69	Martin County, FL	31.8%
70	Gilliam County, OR	31.8%
71	Sheridan County, ND	31.6%
72	Grant County, OR	31.6%
73	Powder River County, MT	31.6%
74	Douglas County, NV	31.6%
75	Adams County, WI	31.6%
76	Door County, WI	31.5%
77	Clallam County, WA	31.5%
78	Kimble County, TX	31.4%
79	Stone County, MO	31.3%
80	Clay County, GA	31.3%
81	Burnett County, WI	31.3%
82	Cherokee County, NC	31.3%
83	Vilas County, WI	31.2%
84	Lincoln County, OR	31.1%
85	Benton County, MO	31.1%
86	Flagler County, FL	31.1%
87	Baxter County, AR	31.1%
88	Motley County, TX	31%
89	McIntosh County, ND	31%
90	Modoc County, CA	31%
91	Nye County, NV	31%
92	Iron County, MI	30.9%
93	Fall River County, SD	30.9%
94	Granite County, MT	30.9%
95	Transylvania County, NC	30.8%
96	McPherson County, SD	30.8%
97	Pamlico County, NC	30.7%
98	Jewell County, KS	30.6%
99	Mason County, TX	30.6%
100	Madison County, MT	30.6%

Every state, highest first

Each state’s own published figure, not an average of its counties.

Rank	State	%
1	Puerto Rico	22.7%
2	Maine	21.9%
3	Florida	21.1%
4	Vermont	20.8%
5	West Virginia	20.7%
6	Delaware	20%
7	Hawaii	19.9%
8	Montana	19.7%
9	New Hampshire	19.5%
10	Pennsylvania	19.1%
11	New Mexico	18.8%
12	Oregon	18.6%
13	Arizona	18.6%
14	South Carolina	18.5%
15	Rhode Island	18.3%
16	Michigan	18.2%
17	Connecticut	18.1%
18	Wisconsin	18%
19	Wyoming	18%
20	Ohio	17.9%
21	Iowa	17.8%
22	South Dakota	17.6%
23	Missouri	17.5%
24	Alabama	17.5%
25	Massachusetts	17.5%
26	New York	17.4%
27	Arkansas	17.3%
28	Kentucky	17%
29	North Carolina	16.9%
30	Minnesota	16.8%
31	New Jersey	16.8%
32	Tennessee	16.8%
33	Mississippi	16.8%
34	Nevada	16.6%
35	Idaho	16.6%
36	Kansas	16.6%
37	Illinois	16.6%
38	Indiana	16.4%
39	Nebraska	16.4%
40	Louisiana	16.3%
41	Virginia	16.3%
42	Washington	16.3%
43	Maryland	16.3%
44	North Dakota	16.2%
45	Oklahoma	16.1%
46	California	15.3%
47	Colorado	15.2%
48	Georgia	14.6%
49	Alaska	13.3%
50	Texas	13.2%
51	District of Columbia	12.7%
52	Utah	11.6%

More on share aged 65 and over

A ranking describes places, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All US rankings.