Florida Aging Population and Retirees

Florida had 4,781,978 residents age 65 and older in the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, 21.3 percent of the state's people (Census Bureau, DP05).

These figures come from the ACS 2020-2024 5-year table, not from a single-day count. The total behind the 21.3 percent share is 22,416,077 Floridians (DP05). Roughly one Floridian in five is 65 or older by this measure.

Most older Floridians are in the younger part of the range. In the same survey, 2,632,160 Floridians were 65 to 74 years old, 1,577,196 were 75 to 84, and 572,622 were 85 or older (Census Bureau, DP05). The median age of the Florida population 65 and older was 74.0 years (Census Bureau, S0103), which means half of older Floridians are younger than 74.

The 85 and older group alone, 572,622 Florida residents, is larger than the total population of 55 of the 67 Florida counties in the same Census Bureau county table (Census Bureau, county DP05).

Sumter County is the oldest county in Florida by the ACS 2020-2024 figures, with 57.7 percent of residents 65 or older and a median age of 68.5 (Census Bureau, county DP05).

Among the 67 Florida counties in the Census Bureau county table, the next highest shares of residents 65 and older are Charlotte County at 40.5 percent, Sarasota County at 37.5 percent and Citrus County at 36.5 percent (county DP05). Orange County has the lowest share of the 67, 13.0 percent, and a median age of 36.6.

Share and headcount tell different stories. Miami-Dade County has the largest number of older residents, 463,896 people 65 and older, followed by Palm Beach County with 380,989 and Broward County with 354,411, yet in Miami-Dade they make up only 16.9 percent of the county (Census Bureau, county DP05). Together, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties hold 1,199,296 residents 65 and older, more than 14 times Sumter County's 82,722, even though Sumter's share is more than three times Miami-Dade's.

Most older Florida householders own their homes, and few move: 82.6 percent of Florida households headed by someone 65 or older are owners, and 92.1 percent of Floridians 65 and older lived in the same house a year earlier (Census Bureau, S0103).

Living alone is common. In the ACS 2020-2024 table for the Florida population 65 and older, 40.7 percent of households headed by an older Floridian were one person living alone, compared with 28.3 percent of all Florida households (S0103). Among Floridians 65 and older, 20.9 percent were widowed, 14.5 percent were civilian veterans and 32.0 percent held a bachelor's degree or higher.

Homes owned by older Floridians are valuable: the median value of a home owned by a householder 65 or older was $335,300 in the same survey (Census Bureau, S0103). That figure matters for the property tax rules covered below, because one of the two senior exemptions is limited to homes with a just value under $250,000.

Only 16.8 percent of Floridians 65 and older were in the labor force in the ACS 2020-2024 estimates, so the large majority of older Floridians are out of the workforce (Census Bureau, S0103).

Social Security reaches nearly nine in ten older Florida households: 88.9 percent of households headed by someone 65 or older reported Social Security income, with a mean of $26,798 a year (S0103). A little more than half, 54.5 percent, reported retirement income, with a mean of $38,194.

Not every older Floridian is comfortable. In the same Census Bureau table, 11.8 percent of Floridians 65 and older had income below the federal poverty level (Census Bureau, S0103). Moves from other states are a small slice in any one year: only 2.3 percent of Floridians 65 and older had moved in from a different state during the previous year.

The Florida Department of Elder Affairs runs its programs through 11 Area Agencies on Aging, which double as Aging and Disability Resource Centers, and its statewide Elder Helpline is 1-800-963-5337 (Florida Department of Elder Affairs).

The resource centers give information on state and federal benefits and local programs, make sure eligibility determinations are done properly, and manage the availability of financial resources for certain key long-term care programs for elders (Elder Affairs). Each center covers one Planning and Service Area (PSA). The department's own office is at 4040 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, phone 850-414-2000. To apply for services, the department directs callers to 1-800-96-ELDER or to the local center.

When it was checked on October 15, 2026, the Elder Affairs resource center page still opened with a Hurricane Isaias Information link (Elder Affairs). Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Florida Department of Elder Affairs website.

Florida lets counties and cities grant homeowners 65 and older an extra homestead exemption of up to $50,000 when household income does not exceed a yearly limit, which the Florida Department of Revenue set at $38,686 for 2026 (Florida Department of Revenue).

Both senior exemptions are local options: a board of county commissioners or a city government must adopt an ordinance before they apply, and they reduce only that county or city millage, not school district taxes (Department of Revenue). The second exemption equals the full assessed value for an owner 65 or older whose home has a just value under $250,000 and who has made it a permanent residence for at least 25 years, again subject to the income limit (Department of Revenue, PT-110).

Applications go to the county property appraiser, and an owner whose application is denied may petition the county value adjustment board (PT-110). The income limit is adjusted every year by the percentage change in the average cost of living index, an average of monthly consumer price index figures (PT-110). It was $37,694 for 2025 before the 2.6 percent increase to $38,686 for 2026 (Department of Revenue). The PT-110 brochure, revised in August 2024, still quotes only the original $20,000 base, so the current figure has to be read from the Department of Revenue's separate table. Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Florida Department of Revenue website.

Florida's official forecasters at the Office of Economic and Demographic Research call the end of this decade an inflection point, as the final baby boomer cohorts enter retirement (EDR Demographic Estimating Conference).

The Demographic Estimating Conference stated that view when it met on June 22, 2026 to adopt a new population forecast (EDR).

For homeowners, the senior exemption income limit has risen every year in the Department of Revenue series, from $28,482 in 2016 to $38,686 in 2026 (Department of Revenue). The statewide demographics section of Digital Towns also has the Florida population by the numbers guide for total population and growth.