New data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates about 15 percent of Iowans are over the age of 65. Nearly 458-thousand of the people who were living in Iowa in 2011 were over the age of 65 according to this new Census report. That group collected more than half a billion dollars in Social Security benefits in 2011. A majority — 57 percent — were women. nearly 30 percent of all elderly Iowans were living alone. Four other states have a higher percentage of elderly residents. The Census Bureau also found three-quarters of Iowans over the age of 65 were born here.
Wahpeton, a town to just the west of West Lake Okoboji that has a population of about 350, has the highest percentage of elderly residents of any iowa city. Nearly 45 percent of Wahpeton’s population is over the age of 64.