SEPT. 22, 2025 — In 2020, centenarians (people who have reached the age of 100) accounted for just 2 out of 10,000 people, according to the “Centenarians: 2020” special report released by the U.S. Census Bureau today.

Though a small proportion of the total population, the centenarian population in the United States increased by 50% from 53,364 in 2010 to 80,139 in 2020. This percentage increase was also faster than the growth of other age groups among older adults since 2010.

The report provides an updated portrait of the centenarian population in the United States and is based on age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, living arrangements, and geographic distribution information from the 2020 Census. The characteristic profile and geographic distribution of centenarians are compared with those of other age groups in the older population to illustrate how centenarians are distinct. 

Other highlights include:

• In 2020, centenarians were overwhelmingly female at 78.8%. This was a slight decline from 2010, when centenarians were 82.8% female.
• Between 2010 and 2020, the male centenarian population grew by 85.3% versus a 42.9% increase for female centenarians.

• Centenarians, a largely White alone and female population, became slightly more racially diverse and male in 2020. The increase in racial diversity (i.e., about an 8 percentage-point decline in the White alone share) was on par with what was shown for other age groups among the older population, but it was less than the increase in racial diversity for the population under age 65 (i.e., about a 12 percentage-point decline in the White alone share). Black or African American alone centenarians were an exception to the general pattern. The percentage of centenarians who were Black or African American alone declined from 12.2% in 2010 to 10.3% in 2020.

• Compared with the national centenarian proportion of 2.42 per 10,000 people in the population, the Northeast had the highest centenarian proportion among regions at 3.19 centenarians per 10,000 people.
• Hawaii was the only state with more than 4 centenarians per 10,000 (4.44) people in 2020. Puerto Rico joined it, having 4.14 centenarians per 10,000 people. On the other end of the spectrum, no state had less than 1 centenarian per 10,000 people in 2020. Utah came the closest with 1.04, and Alaska was close behind with 1.28 centenarians per 10,000 people.
• States with the highest proportion of centenarians were similar in pattern to that for the population ages 85 to 99 (i.e., Midwest and Northeast concentration of the high-proportion states), but they were dissimilar from the pattern for the population ages 65 to 84 (i.e., high-proportion states were outside the central United States).

• In 2020, female centenarians lived alone without familiar household members to a much greater extent than male centenarians.
  • About half (49.7%) of male centenarians lived with others in a household, while only about a third (33.8%) of female centenarians lived with others in a household.
  • When we focus on group quarters living, such as nursing homes, female centenarians were about twice as likely to experience this living arrangement than male centenarians. Among centenarians, 27.6% of females were living in a nursing home, while only 14.2% of males were living in a nursing home. 
  • Putting the above two points together, about two-thirds (66.2%) of centenarian females were living alone or in a group living situation. In contrast, about half (50.3%) of centenarian males were in that living situation.
• The centenarian living arrangement with notably more racial and ethnic diversity in 2020 was “living with others in a household,” while the centenarian living arrangements with the least racial and ethnic diversity were nursing homes and “living alone in a household.”
  • Centenarians who were Hispanic or Latino, Asian alone, and “All Other Races” were notably more likely to live with others in a household (i.e., each group having over 60% living with others in a household), while White alone and not Hispanic centenarians were much less likely to live with others in a household (i.e., each less than 35% living with others in a household). Black or African American alone centenarians were in the middle with about half living with others in a household. 

No news release associated with this report. Tip sheet only.

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