JCHS Releases Housing for Older Adults Report

Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) recently released a report called Housing America’s Older Adults 2018. It says that more than half of the nation's households are now headed by someone at least 50 years of age. It finds that nearly a third of households age 65 or older (9.7 million) pay at least 30 percent of their income for housing, and more than half of these pay over 50 percent.

According to the report, in 2016, 17 percent of households age 50 and over included someone who had difficulty climbing stairs or walking, but only 3.5 percent of U.S. homes had three key features for those with mobility challenges: single-floor living, no-step entries, and extra-wide halls and doors. JCHS suggests that in the years to come, supportive and accessible housing will be in even greater demand.