Census data shows that five of the nation’s 11 fastest growing cities are located in Texas. Of the eight cities that added the most people in the U.S., five of those are this state’s urban centers—Austin, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio. And with that growth, the aging population in the Lone Star State swells. And as that population ages, their demand for care will increase.
Austin-based Seniorcare.com spent months researching the demographics to show a variety of data points about how acute the need is going to be in the coming years. The organization merged information from the Census Bureau, the Congressional Budget Office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The map above illustrates the percentage of the 65 and older population. For the purpose of this article, only three cities are analyzed—Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Those three have attracted the most newcomers in the past decade.
DALLAS:
It’s home to 117,236 seniors aged 65 and over. Of that total, 50,726 own a home, and 15,773 have a mortgage on the residence.
Monthly Home Costs as a percentage of Income for Senior Homeowners:
- 51 percent spend more than 20 percent of the budget
- 26 percent use 35 percent of the budget
- 9 percent use 20 to 24.9 percent of their budget
16,087 are below the poverty level (4.64 percent are males, and 6.42 percent are females).
23 percent of them receive food stamps.
45 percent of seniors in Dallas earn less than $30,000 per year, while 16 percent earn more than $100K/year
The median household income for Dallas seniors is $34,405. It includes the average social security benefit of $15,763/year and the average retirement income of $23,096/year.
21,177 are employed.
HOUSTON:
It’s home to 208,624 seniors aged 65 and over. Of that total, 90,963 own a home, and 24,741 have a mortgage.
Monthly Home Costs as a percent of Income for Senior Homeowners
- 58 percent spend more than 20 percent of the budget
- 21 percent pay 35 percent of the budget
- 9 percent pay 20 to 24.9 percent of the budget
27,718 are below the poverty level (4.72 percent are males, and 6.63 percent are females)
23 percent of them receive food stamps.
43 percent of seniors in Houston earn less than $30,000 per year, while 16 percent earn more than $100K/year.
The median household income is $36,162, which includes an average social security benefit of $15,638/year and an annual retirement income of $23,666.
39,878 seniors in Houston have employment.
AUSTIN:
A total of 63,041 aged 65 plus live in Austin. 27,457 own a home, and 9,943 have a mortgage on it.
Monthly Home Costs as a percent of Income for Senior Homeowners
- 56 percent spend < 20 percent of the budget
- 20 percent pay 35 percent of the budget
- 11 percent spend 20 to 24.9 percent of the budget
5,146 are below the poverty level (2.35 percent are males, and 4.14 percent are females)
15 percent receive food stamps.
30 percent of seniors in Austin earn less than $30,000 per year, while 19 percent earn more than $100K/year
The median household income is $47,993, which includes an average social security benefit of $16,538/year along with an annual retirement income of $27,351.
Long-term care Support and Services
If an area wants to be chosen by an older adult, it must meet certain criteria. And for seniors to migrate there, (and you want a large segment of the 55+ since they hold 64 percent of the country’s wealth) entities need to beef up the amenities and services.
Planning for retirement is fundamental and finding a place that meet your long-term care budget is critical. Here’s a breakdown of senior care in the three Texas areas.
Home Care
- Dallas Area – the average cost is $20.00/hour.
- Houston Area – the average price is $19.50.
- Austin Area area – the average rate is $21.50.
Adult day care
- Dallas – the average cost is $61.00.
- Houston – the average price is $60.00.
- Austin – the average rate is $60.00.
Assisted living
- Dallas average cost is $3,700.00/mo.
- Houston average price is $3,825.00/mo.
- Austin average rate is $4,576.00/mo.
Nursing home care
- Dallas – 151.00 / day.
- Houston – $152.00 / day.
- Austin – $165.00 / day.
Other impressive stats when comparing the three Texas cities’ data of the 65+ population:
A healthy lifestyle is important to all ages, and older adults need it even more to avoid chronic conditions. Let’s take a look at each county’s health rankings. You can see Texas Health Rankings for Adults 65 and over.
Health Ranking by County for adults 18 years of age and up. The rankings stack up like this: The lowest score (best health) gets a rank of #1 for that state, and the highest score (worst health) gets whatever position that corresponds to the number of units we rank in that state.
Quality of Life
- Dallas (Dallas) 138
- Harris (Houston) 121
- Travis (Austin) 21
Health behaviors
Adult smokers
- Dallas 15 percent
- Harris 14 percent
- Travis 12 percent
Adult obesity
- Dallas 28 percent
- Harris 27 percent
- Travis 20 percent
Physical inactivity
- Dallas 25 percent
- Harris 21 percent
- Travis 16 percent
Exercise opportunities
- Dallas 98 percent
- Harris 97 percent
- Travis 97 percent
Excessive drinking
- Dallas 17 percent
- Harris 18 percent
- Travis 23 percent
Primary care physicians
- Dallas 1,520:1
- Harris 1,730:1
- Travis 1,180:1
Preventable hospital stays (Number of hospital stays for ambulatory-care sensitive conditions per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.)
- Dallas 51
- Harris 54
- Travis 50
Diabetic monitoring (Percentage of diabetic Medicare enrollees ages 65-75 that receive HbA1c monitoring.)
- Dallas 86 percent
- Harris 82 percent
- Travis 84 percent
Imagine what entities could learn by measuring local data of living arrangements and housing costs, long-term care expenses, and health rankings. It’s a treasure chest of information that gives a clear image of a person’s healthcare infrastructure.
