A Population Profile of Very Old Men and Women in the United States

Abstract

This article presents the 1st population profile of men and women aged 85 and over. The analysis uses Sample A the 5% sample of the 1980 census microdata files. Results show that there are not very many very old men. In 1980 nearly 70% of those aged 85 and over were women. Men were better off than women in both socioeconomic and relational characteristics in that they had higher personal incomes from nearly all sources and were more likely to be married and living independently. They were often cared for in their own homes by younger spouses; consequently they did not live in nursing homes in as great a proportion as very old women. In a sense then the generalizations about the very old have a female bias; the hidden minority of men fits the stereotype of the very old less closely than do women. (authors modified)