The average age of Salt Lake County’s residents is going to significantly increase in the coming decades, according to a study conducted by U researchers.
“People are living longer and having fewer kids,” said Pam Perlich, author of the study. “This is not the same kind of population growth as we have seen in the past.”
The U’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research found that in the year 2033, the 60-and-older population in Salt Lake County will exceed the school-age population by 70,000.
This means that the county will simultaneously have high youth- and retirement-age dependency ratios — an issue that the county has never dealt with before.
The study, commissioned by the Salt Lake County Aging Services, was conducted in an effort to bring attention to the growth in the county’s aging population and the amenities needed to service it.
“Many policy makers don’t recognize the needs (for the future),” said Sheldon Elman, the associate director of Salt Lake County Aging Services. “Salt Lake County is unique in that 40 percent of the growth in population will be in the 60-and-older group.”
The study also found that one in four residents in the county will live farther southwest in areas that are currently being developed by community home builders.
“As the population is spreading out to the south and west, we need to make sure that services are available to them,” Elman said.
Elman also said that changes need to be made within these communities in order to accommodate the aging populations that will be living in them.
Larger street and traffic signs, transportation and newer intergenerational community living are a few changes he suggested.
“As the number of seniors in the population is going to increase, it also means the number of people in need of our services will, too,” Elman said.
Salt Lake County Aging Services is a governmental organization that provides programs and services for the county’s residents more than 60 years old and their caregivers.
Perlich hopes builders who plan to develop living communities anticipate the elderly population’s needs, as their population is going to make up most of the buyers on the market.
“There are a lot of new developments, and the hope is that they pay attention to the fact that it is not (just) going to be start-up families who buy their homes,” Perlich said. “It is not going to be the same old Utah in the future.”
Perlich said these newer developments should cater to the aging population by being single level and having access to exercise, as well as easy access to medical care and transportation.
“When you are moving billions of dollars in the county, you want to do it with the population in mind,” Perlich said.
More information on the published findings from the study can be found at www.business.utah.edu/bebr .