How Americans Are Thinking About Aging – Pew Research Center
|November 6, 2025
How Americans Are Thinking About Aging
For older adults, income largely shapes the aging experience
By Luona Lin and Juliana Menasce Horowitz
Friends enjoy a Valentine’s Day celebration at a Los Angeles senior center on Feb. 13, 2025. (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)The U.S. population is aging rapidly. From 2004 to 2024, the share of Americans ages 65 and older increased from 12.4% to 18.0%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This is due in part to the country’s declining birth rate and increased life expectancy, but also because Baby Boomers – whose generation is defined by the increase of births in the U.S. following World War II – are now well into their 60s and 70s.
Against this backdrop, we surveyed 8,750 U.S. adults from Sept. 2 to 8, 2025, to understand how they’re thinking about aging:
- How are things going for older Americans as they age?
- What do younger adults think life will be like in their later years?
- Are there aspects of aging that Americans think people can control?
- What have Americans done, or what would they consider doing, to look younger than they are?
This research is part of our ongoing effort to study how the U.S. is changing socially and demographically and how the public is reacting to these changes. It also builds on our previous work about older adults and aging.
Key takeaways:
- Perceptions of aging: 49% of adults ages 65 and older say they are aging extremely or very well. By comparison, 30% of those younger than 65 expect to age similarly well. Among those in the younger group who say they think about what life may be like in their 70s and beyond at least sometimes, more are worried about their later years (67%) than excited (51%).
- Income and the aging experience: Among adults ages 65 and older, experiences with getting older differ vastly by income. About six-in-ten older adults in the upper income tier (61%) say they’re aging extremely or very well. This compares with 51% of those in the middle income tier and 39% of those in the lower income tier. Older adults in the upper income tier are also more likely to rate their physical and mental health highly, to spend time pursuing hobbies and socializing with friends extremely or very often, and to be active in a civic group or interest club.
- Aging and financial concerns: More than four-in-ten U.S. adults under 65 (45%) aren’t confident they’ll have enough income and assets to last through their retirement years or say that they won’t be able to retire at all. Among those who are worried when they think about what their life will be like in their 70s and beyond, financial concerns are one of the most commonly cited reasons for this feeling.
- Control over aging: More Americans say people have control over their physical health and mobility as they grow older than over their mental sharpness or how old they look. Three-in-ten say people have at least a fair amount of control over the aging process overall, with adults ages 65 and older among the most likely to hold this view (40%).
How much control do people have over the aging process?
A majority of Americans think people have a great deal or a fair amount of control over:
- Their physical health (67%)
- Their physical mobility (60%)
Fewer than half say people have at least a fair amount of control over:
- Their mental sharpness (47%)
- How old they look (38%)
When asked what age they would want to live to if they had a choice, most Americans (76%) say they would want to live until at least 80, including 29% who say they would want to make it to 100. On average, Americans say they want to live to be 91 years old.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: How Americans Are Thinking About Aging | Pew Research Center
#aging #americans #americansAging #income #mentalSharpness #oldLook #pew #pewResearchCenter #thinkingOfAging
