The U.S. Census Bureau has released a special report showing that the number of centenarians in the United States grew by 50% between 2010 and 2020, rising from 53,364 to 80,139. Despite this significant growth, centenarians—people aged 100 or older—still make up a small share of the population at about 2 out of every 10,000 people.
According to the “Centenarians: 2020” report, this age group saw faster growth than other older adult populations over the decade. The report draws on data from the 2020 Census and examines centenarians by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, living arrangements, and where they live in the country.
Women made up a large majority of centenarians in 2020 at nearly 79%, though this was a slight decrease from almost 83% in 2010. The male centenarian population increased by more than 85% over the decade compared to about a 43% increase for women. The centenarian population also became somewhat more racially diverse and male during this period.
There was an approximately eight percentage-point drop in the share of White alone centenarians between 2010 and 2020. However, Black or African American alone centenarians declined as a proportion of all centenarians from 12.2% to just over 10%. The rise in racial diversity among centenarians was similar to trends seen in other older age groups but less pronounced than among those under age 65.
Geographically, the Northeast had the highest concentration of centenarians with about 3.19 per 10,000 people. Hawaii led all states with more than four centenarians per 10,000 residents; Puerto Rico had a similar ratio. No state had fewer than one centenarian per 10,000 people.
Patterns across states showed that regions with higher proportions of very old adults (ages 85–99) also tended to have more centenarians, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast.
In terms of living arrangements, female centenarians were much more likely than males to live alone or in group quarters such as nursing homes. About half of male centenarians lived with others in a household compared to roughly one-third of female centenarians. Women were twice as likely as men to reside in nursing homes: nearly 28% versus just over 14%.
Two-thirds of female centenarians lived either alone or in group settings; for males it was about half.
The data show that racial and ethnic diversity was greatest among those living with others in households; Hispanic or Latino and Asian alone centenarians were most likely to live with others (over two-thirds), while White alone not Hispanic individuals were least likely (less than one-third). Black or African American alone centenarians fell near the middle with about half living with others.
The findings provide an updated profile of America’s oldest residents based on information collected during the last decennial census.
