Why are so many seniors homeless in America?

People over 60 are quickly becoming the largest share of America's unhoused population

Homeless person and tents
Being homeless is really hard on the body, and that's a special problem for seniors
(Image credit: Illustrated / Getty Images)

The baby boomers are "the wealthiest generation" and currently the most powerful — three of the last five presidents were all born in the summer of 1946, after all. They also have the largest slice of the U.S. real estate wealth, 44%, even though they make up just 28% of the adult population, NPR's Planet Money reported. On the flip side, boomers are quickly becoming the largest share of America's homeless population.

People over 60 are "now arguably the fastest rising group" within the homeless population, Dennis Culhane, a professor of social policy at the University of Pennsylvania, told PBS NewsHour. He and colleagues predicted in a widely cited 2019 paper that the population of homeless seniors 65 and older in New York City, Los Angeles County and Boston will probably triple by 2030. And that was before the Covid-19 pandemic upended the lives of seniors living on the edge of poverty.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.