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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has long held its standing as the state with the youngest population in the nation, but as fertility rates decline and the adult population continues to age, it may need to make structural changes to see its older folks through their golden years.
The general fertility rate in the United States decreased by 3% from 2022, reaching a historic low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The historic low marked a second consecutive year of decline, with the rate consistently decreasing from 2014 to 2020.
Despite Western states experiencing strong population gains overall, in part due to migration, the Pew Research Center found that the West experienced the most severe fertility rate drops. Arizona's and Utah's declines were more than double that of the 50-state average.
In 1980, fewer than 8% of Utah residents were over 65, but by 2020, that population increased to 12%, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Projections indicate the state's retirement-age population will likely be more than 20% of Utah's population by 2060, the report noted.
Lower birth rates and longer lives mean that cities will have to fundamentally change to adapt to a demographic shift by considering factors like mobility, technology integration, health care services and community design. The rapid demographic changes prompted local leaders and experts to discuss the emerging needs and strategies to support an aging population during Salt Lake County's "Aging in Place" regional solutions event on Wednesday.
"The picture of the aging population in Utah is going to be a different experience because we're newer to this aging process, but we're going to have a continuing burden of people coming up into 65-plus in bigger and bigger elements of the population, whereas in the U.S., there might be a little bit of a like moment to catch breath and reassess," said Mallory Bateman, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute director of demographic research. "We need to keep using our entrepreneurial spirit thinking about the aging population as we move out into the future."
Some challenges facing Utah's senior population
Utah's capital city and its surrounding areas demonstrate national changes. Salt Lake County is rapidly aging with 11.9% of its population being 65 years and older. While this percentage is lower than the national average, the share of older adults is rapidly increasing at a rate 123 times faster than in the United States, according to census data.
A survey conducted by BYU student Ella Madsen for Salt Lake County found that many adults 65 years and older (78%) desired to age in place, meaning stay in their homes until they're unable to. The ability to age in place is becoming harder to do, with seniors facing financial challenges, disability and access difficulties and social isolation.
About 1 in 3 older adults in the United States are financially insecure. The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute found that poverty rates after age 75 remain low for men but increase for women, reaching 9.3%.
Poverty levels and housing are directly linked — Utahns' ability to pay housing costs changes with age. Nationally, older adults are the fastest-growing age group of those experiencing homelessness. Older adults compose nearly half of the homeless population with the number estimated to triple by 2030, according to the U.S. Office of Behavioral Health, Disability, and Aging Policy. Older adults are vulnerable to homelessness because of a variety of factors, including a fixed income amid surging housing prices.
Nearly 6 in 10 Utah renters age 65 and older are cost-burdened, with most households spending more than 35% of their income on housing costs, according to the institute.
"If I don't have subsidized housing, I will be homeless," said a woman surveyed. "I know a lot of people who are homeless."
Other difficulties for seniors include disability and social isolation. The survey found that 30.8% of adults 65 and older have a disability, with the most common one in Salt Lake County being an ambulatory difficulty. Additionally, 55.2% of survey respondents reported feeling socially isolated.
"I mean, it was since my husband died. It just completely shifts everything. I have friends in my widows' group that feel that way. I mean, we do try to stay — we're retired — but we stay busy with things. I think depression associated with all the losses that happen after you get a certain age make us a little less motivated to get out there," said another survey respondent.
Potential solutions
Housing solutions include some that have already started to be implemented in Salt Lake City or considered, such as increasing housing density and approval of accessory dwelling units. A poll conducted by AARP found that 60% of individuals aged 50 and over are open to relocating to an accessory dwelling unit for reasons like proximity to loved ones, support with daily activities and saving money.
Utah's relative youth, for now, can serve as a benefit to the state as it moves forward.
"Being the youngest state in the nation, we've got a lot of examples. We can turn to look for other communities that have maybe done things well, or if they haven't done them well, and improve on the methods and models that they've created," said Bateman.
Some states that have implemented or developed comprehensive strategies to support aging include California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Texas.
