Cheap Housing Lures Retirees To Some Chillier Western States

Sunshine and warm temperatures aren’t the only lures for retirees. They also want cheaper housing and some elbowroom, and that has made places such as Colorado, Idaho, Utah and New Mexico increasingly attractive to the over-65 set.

Associated Press

Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com

Each of those states saw its senior population grow at least 6% between 2000 and 2003, placing them among the 10 fastest-growing states for that age group, according to Census Bureau figures being released Wednesday.

Much of the growth is the result of active retirees from California who go looking for destinations with four-season climates, less congestion and cheaper living costs, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

"What’s happening is that baby boomers who moved to California are just now reaching retirement age," Mr. Frey said. "California is really sort of a bubbling population of elderly ready to escape high housing costs."

A separate 2002 Census survey found the median home value in California was above $275,000, compared with $199,000 in Colorado and $116,000 in New Mexico.

Nevada, which leads the nation in most population-growth categories, is tops among the 65-and-over crowd as well. That population increased 15% there between 2000 and 2003.

Alaska was second at 14%. However, it is thought that that is the result more of the aging of the state’s own residents than of retirees moving in. Arizona, long a popular retirement destination, followed Alaska, with 7% growth in the 65-and-older population.

Nationally, the senior population rose almost 3% to 35.9 million.

Many retirees in states such as Idaho and Colorado enjoy the mountain vistas and fresh air but stay close to cities such as Boise and Denver to gain easy access to health care, transportation and shopping, said Mark Fagan, a sociologist at Jacksonville State University in Alabama and an expert in retiree migration.

California, by far the most populous state, has the largest number of people 65 and older, 3.8 million, up almost 5% from 2000. It was followed by Florida and New York.

About 17% of Florida’s population of 17 million is 65 and older, the largest proportion in the country. Pennsylvania and West Virginia had the next biggest shares of older residents.

The Census Bureau released overall state estimates for 2003 last fall. The U.S. population of nearly 291 million is up 3% since 2000.

The latest release offers a more detailed breakdown by age groups. Some other highlights:

The national population of five-to- 13-year-olds declined slightly between 2000 and 2003 to 36.7 million, in part a reflection of people having fewer children or delaying having children until later in life, Mr. Frey said.

It was the only population that declined among the groups analyzed by the bureau.

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