By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics
“The only reality in the world is that we are going to get older and we’re going to die.”
Nobody can escape that reality, according to Christian Itin, a member of the Colorado Strategic Action Group on Aging.
“I think we need to remind folks that this will happen to me,” he said. “It will happen to you. It’ll happen to your family. We can’t put our heads in the sand and hide from that reality.”
In Colorado, the older population is growing fast, with ramifications for the major challenges the state already faces, notably housing, healthcare costs and workforce needs. It also affects student enrollment, which, in turn, means a direct impact on school financing.
Many have sounded the alarm over Colorado’s graying population, saying this requires more attention and careful planning, particularly since this trend, if it persists, will fundamentally alter the state’s priorities.
Consider this: Between 2010 and 2020, the number of people 65 and over in Colorado grew at the nation’s second-fastest pace, falling only behind Alaska. Over the next decade, this population is projected to increase by 36%, equaling about 317,000 more older adults.
In 2023, the state’s older population equaled nearly a million residents statewide.
The “phenomenon” is compounded by the fact that people live longer and younger adults are having fewer children, according to Itin, a professor in the Department of Social Work at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
This trend will affect everything from affordable housing, the economy, the workforce, and, most importantly, costs to the healthcare system, Itin warned. Some policymakers have recognized the trend, and they, too, are worried about its repercussions, which, in some areas, have already started.