The Demographics of the Elderly Population of the Westside of Los Angeles County

This paper presents a detailed demographic profile of the elderly community of the western portion of Los Angeles County based on place and census tract data drawn from the 1980 and 1990 Census Summary Tape files. The work was done in support of a long-range planning effort by WISE Senior Services and is intended to help WISE develop new programs and tailor existing ones to reflect changes in the population that have occurred over the past ten years. The study shows that the number of persons 65 and over has increased substantially in some areas while other areas, notably those with historically large elderly populations, have experienced declines during the last decade. The 75-and-over population has grown everywhere, the largest growth being recorded in the 85-and-over age category. The number of multi-person non-family households with one or more elderly members has risen in all parts of the Westside. In addition, the incidence of elderly householders living in owner-occupied housing has increased dramatically everywhere on the Westside, as well as elsewhere in the country. The findings are consistent with the notion that more elderly persons are aging in place than did so in the past due to a variety of factors such as existing tax laws, property values, and attendant rent control. 67 pp. Bibliog.