Baby Boomers change Houston landscape

HOUSTON – The number of assisted-living facilities in the Bayou City has grown rapidly, and it doesn’t seem things will slow down any time soon.

There was a 33 percent increase in the number of assisted-living facilities in the Houston area from 2008 to 2012, according to the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. From 2011 through 2012, the number of licensed facilities increased from 416 to 435.

Houston’s population of people aged 65 and older increased to 193,050 in 2010 from 164,064 in 2000 — a 17.7 percent increase, according to the U.S. Census.

An estimated 512,000 seniors aged 60 and older live in Harris County. In fact, Baby Boomers constitute nearly 30 percent of Harris County’s total population.

As the 76 million Americans who were born between 1946 and 1964 approach retirement age, there will need to be more communities in which they can live out the remainder of their lives.