The Akron region is going gray fast.
The U.S. Census Bureau released new five-year estimates Thursday that show Summit County, just like the rest of the country, is getting collectively older as the baby boom generation ages.
The median age within Summit climbed from 39.5 years to 40.7 years when compared to the previous five-year period. The national median is 37.6, while the state’s is 39.2.
The new statistics cover 2011-15.
The county saw the population of people 65 or older grow 10 percent to 85,186 over that same time, according to the American Community Survey. Senior citizens now account for 15.7 percent of the county’s overall population of 541,847.
Nationwide, 14.1 percent of the population is 65 or older. Similarly, 15.2 percent of Ohio residents are senior citizens.
“Every time I look around in a car, I see somebody with gray hair,” Thea Harrah, 69, of Stow, said Wednesday morning with a chuckle while getting ready to work out at the Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium. “I don’t know where all the young people are. I guess they’re at work.”
The aging population should come as no surprise as the U.S. Administration on Aging has projected that the number of senior citizens will more than double to about 98 million by 2060.
The growth often is portrayed as an upcoming drain on the economy and social services, especially when it comes to Social Security.
But many seniors remain active physically, still pay taxes and stay engaged in their communities, often through volunteer work. Communities also are seeing the value of becoming age-friendly because improvements made for senior citizens — such as places being more walkable — tend to benefit everyone.
“What makes life good for older people makes life good for everybody,” said Suzanne Kunkel, executive director at the Scripps Gerontology Center and sociology and gerontology at Miami University in Oxford. “That’s a really important message.”
Communities also need to look for ways to promote intergenerational activities, she added.
The Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium has felt the local impact.
The center participates in the national SilverSneakers exercise program that targets older adults and provides free fitness memberships. There are now about 5,700 seniors who are members at the Natatorium.
Facility director Lori Visner expects the number of SilverSneakers members to continue to rise.
“The baby boomers and the fitness world are growing, growing, growing,” she said.
The Silver Fitness aerobics class Wednesday was packed.
“I want to stay fit,” said Madeline Milford, 71, of Cuyahoga Falls.
The American Community Survey statistics — available at http://factfinder.census.gov — cover every demographic issue from poverty to age to race to household income and allow people to compare the data with the estimates from 2006-10.
While the data show that the senior population is growing in Summit, the figures also indicate that the percent of the population between 20 and 35 also rose 0.8 percent to 19 percent.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .