Rural Virginians Will be Really Old by 2040

Image credit: StatChat. Click for more legible image.

Like every other state in the union, Virginia’s population is getting older. The trend is particularly pronounced in rural jurisdictions, as seen in these maps compiled by Shonel Sen with the Demographics Research Group at the University of Virginia and published in the StatChat blog.

Everyone seems so focused on immediate problems that localities have given little attention to what things will be like in 23 years when the 65+ demographic comprises more than 20% of the population across most of the state. Given the inability of most Baby Boomers to accumulate much wealth, how many of these elders be poor? Given the tendency of young people to move away, will the rural elderly have caretakers? Given the pressures on rural hospitals and the increasingly acute shortage of doctors, will the elderly have adequate access to health care?

I suppose it’s human nature to ignore distant problems until they become immediate problems, so I’m guessing nothing will be done until these issues reach crisis proportions. This is America. That’s how we roll.