By 2030, it is expected that adults aged 65 and above will surpass the number of children, marking the first demographic shift of this kind in U.S. history. This phenomenon is primarily due to the youngest baby boomers reaching retirement age.
However, many rural regions, particularly in the Midwest and Great Plains, are already grappling with this trend. To comprehend how certain small towns in Iowa can better support aging in place, research from Iowa State University has studied such communities.
“Aging in place is a multidimensional concept,” the researchers explain. “It’s not just about services, like a nursing home or hospital. It’s also about relationships with other people, social capital and the possibilities of community participation.”
Smart senior towns
According to the researchers, “smart senior towns” are defined as communities where seniors can reside safely, comfortably, and independently. They believe that being a smart senior town is a sound development approach in general. The researchers emphasize that these towns prioritize the well-being of their senior citizens. Moreover, seniors in these towns also serve as mentors and establish areas for new leaders and innovative concepts.
“Seniors can really help the community prosper and thrive,” they explain. “They have the time to volunteer, and they’re often influential people in the community who have a repository of knowledge about the town and can lend their advice and reputations to local projects. They also often have money saved up to invest in foundations and projects.”
The researchers utilized data from the U.S. Census and Iowa Small Towns Project, which has been surveying residents from 99 small towns in Iowa every ten years since 1994. The survey questions pertain to various factors such as quality of life, usage of local services, perceptions of community leaders, social capital, civic engagement, and community attachment. For this study, the researchers honed in on small towns with a higher percentage of individuals aged 65 and above in comparison to other rural areas.
High quality of life
The findings revealed that smart senior towns scored higher on every dimension of quality of life when contrasted with “vulnerable senior towns.” Notably, the most significant differences were linked to the standard of medical services (65% vs. 35%) and the availability of daily necessities in their hometown (65% vs. 38%). In addition, smart senior towns received higher ratings on quality housing, child services, and recreational and entertainment facilities.
Population size may have contributed to some of these variances. On average, smart senior towns had a population of 2,030 individuals, while vulnerable senior towns had only 866 people, according to the researchers.
“A larger town can support a grocery store, a restaurant or two and maybe some cultural events. For a town of 900, it’s a little more difficult,” the researchers explain.
Smart senior towns were reported to be safer and better kept by older adults who rated them. Additionally, they considered these towns to be more favorable. Although the poverty rates were similar, the median household incomes and home values were significantly higher in these towns, indicating that there are more resources available to support community foundations and fund local services and improvement projects.
Across generations
“While this paper focuses on the opinions of residents 65 and up, we thought it was also important to know what younger residents think,” the researchers explain. “Do these smart senior towns only provide a good quality of life for older people or are they smart for all residents?”
For all quality-of-life dimensions that were measured, the researchers identified differences between the two age groups in smart senior towns. The residents who were under 65 years of age tended to use services from outside the community more often and expressed lower levels of satisfaction with local leadership. Additionally, they perceived their community as being less trusting and supportive, and not as inclusive for new residents or open to new ideas.
The researchers suggest that small towns should consider the following recommendations:
- Collaborate with neighboring communities to share the costs of services, programs, and events.
- Acknowledge that older adults are active contributors to the quality-of-life in their communities and have agency.
- Encourage the involvement of younger individuals and newcomers in local decision-making processes and demonstrate support for change.
“The narrative of these small towns is often that there’s anger or fear about newcomers, but here’s this town with people who were very open and caring and wanted to help move the community forward,” the authors conclude. “I think it speaks well to the Iowa spirit and what’s possible in our small towns.”
