Disclaimer: General educational research only — not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules differ by state and by family. Talk to an estate planning attorney in your state before you act.
Roughly one in three U.S. households — 43,574,073, or 32.8% — includes at least one person age 65 or older. Of those senior households, 15,784,869 (36.2%) are one-person households: someone 65+ living alone.
This is a household-level count from Census ACS table B11007. It complements our person-level page on older adults living alone. During National Estate Planning Awareness Week, it is a simple way to say how many households still need current wills, powers of attorney and beneficiary forms.
If your household includes someone 65 or older, the documents that speak for them should already be signed. See how a trust and a will differ.
Downloads
Cite this page URL when reusing findings. Not a substitute for official sources or professional advice.
Key findings
- 43,574,073 households (32.8%) include someone 65+ (Census ACS 2024, table B11007).
- 15,784,869 of those (36.2%) are one-person senior households.
- Highest shares of households with a senior: Hawaii (42.1%), Delaware (39.2%), Florida (38.7%), Maine (37.7%) and West Virginia (37.7%).
- Lowest shares: District of Columbia (21.1%), Utah (25.3%), Texas (27.4%), North Dakota (28.2%) and Alaska (28.4%).
- Highest share of senior households that are one-person: District of Columbia (50.0%), North Dakota (43.9%), Nebraska (41.7%) and Iowa (40.5%).
Households with someone 65+ by state
| State | Households | With someone 65+ | Share (%) | One-person 65+ households | Share of 65+ HH that are one-person (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 493,151 | 207,548 | 42.1 | 59,864 | 28.8 |
| Delaware | 412,304 | 161,736 | 39.2 | 55,793 | 34.5 |
| Florida | 9,141,675 | 3,538,063 | 38.7 | 1,206,715 | 34.1 |
| Maine | 615,235 | 232,155 | 37.7 | 88,991 | 38.3 |
| West Virginia | 740,840 | 279,276 | 37.7 | 107,554 | 38.5 |
| New Hampshire | 570,689 | 210,292 | 36.8 | 77,979 | 37.1 |
| Vermont | 285,548 | 104,519 | 36.6 | 40,403 | 38.7 |
| New Mexico | 856,970 | 311,763 | 36.4 | 122,273 | 39.2 |
| Rhode Island | 448,318 | 160,329 | 35.8 | 63,187 | 39.4 |
| Arizona | 2,982,475 | 1,065,849 | 35.7 | 360,264 | 33.8 |
| Connecticut | 1,455,235 | 514,213 | 35.3 | 199,408 | 38.8 |
| Montana | 468,981 | 165,041 | 35.2 | 61,264 | 37.1 |
| Pennsylvania | 5,361,724 | 1,885,021 | 35.2 | 732,854 | 38.9 |
| New York | 7,828,074 | 2,726,874 | 34.8 | 1,033,455 | 37.9 |
| New Jersey | 3,543,944 | 1,226,491 | 34.6 | 426,203 | 34.7 |
| Michigan | 4,131,281 | 1,420,514 | 34.4 | 560,831 | 39.5 |
| South Carolina | 2,222,890 | 765,149 | 34.4 | 262,328 | 34.3 |
| Oregon | 1,744,270 | 594,965 | 34.1 | 218,806 | 36.8 |
| Massachusetts | 2,829,804 | 958,646 | 33.9 | 363,611 | 37.9 |
| Alabama | 2,059,528 | 691,412 | 33.6 | 263,471 | 38.1 |
| Mississippi | 1,176,690 | 393,045 | 33.4 | 150,018 | 38.2 |
| California | 13,797,638 | 4,578,668 | 33.2 | 1,401,504 | 30.6 |
| Maryland | 2,401,394 | 795,180 | 33.1 | 291,422 | 36.6 |
| Nevada | 1,238,925 | 410,567 | 33.1 | 137,473 | 33.5 |
| Ohio | 4,929,322 | 1,624,704 | 33.0 | 658,066 | 40.5 |
| Wyoming | 256,289 | 84,493 | 33.0 | 33,252 | 39.4 |
| Missouri | 2,563,244 | 835,964 | 32.6 | 334,419 | 40.0 |
| Arkansas | 1,246,754 | 404,826 | 32.5 | 155,374 | 38.4 |
| Wisconsin | 2,535,198 | 824,441 | 32.5 | 328,299 | 39.8 |
| Louisiana | 1,848,965 | 598,340 | 32.4 | 231,281 | 38.7 |
| Idaho | 751,181 | 241,115 | 32.1 | 81,941 | 34.0 |
| Kentucky | 1,865,456 | 599,579 | 32.1 | 234,743 | 39.2 |
| Virginia | 3,449,307 | 1,105,841 | 32.1 | 398,787 | 36.1 |
| Illinois | 5,105,448 | 1,624,428 | 31.8 | 635,570 | 39.1 |
| North Carolina | 4,496,359 | 1,423,880 | 31.7 | 524,929 | 36.9 |
| Tennessee | 2,928,765 | 925,612 | 31.6 | 341,375 | 36.9 |
| Indiana | 2,775,637 | 873,368 | 31.5 | 349,105 | 40.0 |
| South Dakota | 382,302 | 119,878 | 31.4 | 45,831 | 38.2 |
| Kansas | 1,204,374 | 376,028 | 31.2 | 147,120 | 39.1 |
| Iowa | 1,343,422 | 418,235 | 31.1 | 169,236 | 40.5 |
| Minnesota | 2,363,442 | 730,067 | 30.9 | 288,542 | 39.5 |
| Oklahoma | 1,603,748 | 495,854 | 30.9 | 194,332 | 39.2 |
| Washington | 3,168,080 | 969,166 | 30.6 | 345,253 | 35.6 |
| Nebraska | 824,012 | 249,755 | 30.3 | 104,120 | 41.7 |
| Georgia | 4,220,732 | 1,268,134 | 30.0 | 428,720 | 33.8 |
| Alaska | 274,045 | 77,707 | 28.4 | 26,367 | 33.9 |
| Colorado | 2,479,892 | 704,660 | 28.4 | 256,729 | 36.4 |
| North Dakota | 349,705 | 98,712 | 28.2 | 43,347 | 43.9 |
| Texas | 11,449,769 | 3,132,274 | 27.4 | 1,016,144 | 32.4 |
| Utah | 1,184,428 | 299,996 | 25.3 | 91,447 | 30.5 |
| District of Columbia | 329,687 | 69,700 | 21.1 | 34,869 | 50.0 |
| United States | 132,737,146 | 43,574,073 | 32.8 | 15,784,869 | 36.2 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, table B11007 (Households by Presence of People 65 Years and Over, Household Size and Household Type). Sorted by share of households with someone 65+.
Planning for the household — not just the person
- One-person senior households often need a clear executor, successor trustee and emergency contacts. See older adults living alone and who will be your executor.
- Multi-person senior households still need documents that match: wills, Powers of Attorney, and beneficiary forms after marriage, divorce or a move. See life events that make a will outdated.
- Multigenerational homes raise shared-title and inheritance questions. See multigenerational households.
Related: turning 65 by state · grandparents raising grandchildren
Methodology
Census ACS 2024 1-year estimates, table B11007, pulled from the Census API on Oct. 17, 2026, for the 50 states, D.C. and the U.S. One-person 65+ households are households with one or more people 65+ that have only one person. ACS figures are survey estimates with margins of error.
What this doesn’t measure. Whether those households already have wills or trusts, the age breakdown inside multi-person homes, or nursing-home and other group-quarters residents (they are not in the household universe).
Frequently asked questions
How many households include someone 65+?
43,574,073, or 32.8% of U.S. households (ACS 2024).
How is this different from older adults living alone?
That page counts people. This page counts households that include at least one person 65+, then shows how many of those households are one-person.
Is this legal advice?
No. Talk to an estate planning attorney in your state.
Sources
Public-domain government sources only. Fetched 2026-10-17.
Data
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, table B11007: https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs1/groups/B11007.html
Related data
More in Aging, care and Medicaid.
Cite this data
Family Estate Guide, “Households With Seniors by State,” October 2026. https://familyestateguide.com/estate-planning-data/households-with-seniors-by-state/
You’re welcome to reuse the table with a link back to this page. The underlying government data is public.
Published October 17, 2026 by Family Estate Guide. Data vintage: Census ACS 2024 1-year, table B11007. Editorial standards.