100 Years Young

Updated July 23, 2021 | Zoe Segal-Reichlin

Centenarians have the last word

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 37,306 centenarians in 1990.

As advancements in technology and medical research have skyrocketed, so have life expectancy figures in the U.S. Statistics on average life expectancy rose from 49 years at the turn of the century to just over 78 years in 2021.

In the meantime, another noticeable trend has appeared. A growing number of people—the centenarians—are living to 100 years and more.

More Women Than Men

In the 1990 census, there were a total of 37,306 centenarians living in the United States—and 6,359 of them had celebrated their 105th birthday. The numbers have only grown since then with increases

Corroborating with other studies on aging, a larger number of women lived to 100 than men. In fact, four out of five centenarians were women. Eighty-four percent of these centenarian women were widowed, compared to 58% who were men.

Socioeconomic Background

The majority of centenarians attained lower levels of education than future generations, which may reflect a lower emphasis on and accessibility to higher education in the first decades of this century. A proportionally high number of centenarians ranked in low socioeconomic spheres: 25.9% of women and 21.1% of males lived below the poverty level.

Centenarians in the Next Century

Taking into consideration population trends thus far, researchers have been able to make estimated projections about future populations of centenarians. According to some, there could be as many as 850,000 centenarians by the year 2,050, creating a wider and more diverse population than ever before. As life expectancy continues to climb, more and more of us will span across centuries.