The number of Americans aged 65 and older jumped by more than 30% in the last decade, and will only continue to climb. As it does, more older adults are likely to struggle to find affordable, accessible housing as they age, according to a new report.
“With so many challenges, there’s a real risk of homelessness for older adults. In fact, older adults are one of the fastest-growing groups experiencing homelessness”, says Jennifer Kye, a senior attorney at the nonprofit Justice in Aging. “With homelessness, prevention is really key. Once older adults lose their housing, they generally face more challenges than younger people in trying to regain it,” she adds
Part of the reason older adults struggle to stay in the home of their choice or to find new housing is because of their fixed or declining incomes. In 2021, an all-time high of around 11.2 million older adults were cost burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on housing. This was especially true for renters, homeowners with mortgages and householders age 80 and over.
