Women drive the senior-housing boom

What you probably already know: Women in the U.S. on average live to more than 81 years old, roughly five years longer than men. It makes sense, then, that women account for the vast majority of all sectors of senior housing and long-term care. Women make up about 76% of assisted-living residents (those who need some level of care) and almost two-thirds in independent living facilities. As the U.S. population ages, the so-called “Silver Tsunami” has become an economic engine, with the senior living market estimated at a staggering $986 billion. It is estimated to grow at a rate of almost 4.5% the next decade. There are upwards of 50,000 senior-living facilities in the U.S., though that doesn’t include age-restricted mobile home parks or subsidized low-income housing.

Why it matters: Erica Thrash-Sall is in the middle of all of it. Thrash-Sall is CEO of Horizon House, a Seattle-based senior-housing facility that just broke ground on a new 33-story tower. The $600 million undertaking is among the largest and most expensive nonprofit senior housing projects in U.S. history. When completed in 2029, the campus will have 620 apartments (529 independent living units, plus 91 for assisted-living and memory care) as pressure on the senior-housing supply intensifies. A study from PwC and the Urban Land Institute notes that, with the oldest cohort of the baby-boomer generation entering their 80s, demand continues to outpace development. Only a small fraction of needed new units are in the pipeline, while occupancy rates remain at historic highs.

What it means: “There are literally a handful of tower-based senior living facilities anywhere in the country,” says Thrash-Sall, who has served as CEO for exactly three years after spending almost a decade as executive director at Presbyterian Villages of Michigan, a faith-based, nonprofit senior living provider that operates 26 communities. She notes that the average age of a Horizon House resident is 83. “America is not ready to meet the demands of aging at all, any kind of way, shape, or form. We really have to lean into that because there are not going to be enough services, enough caregivers or services toward the very end of life.”

What happens next: A Pew Research survey found that income largely shapes the aging experience, with more affluent seniors over age 65 saying they’re aging well or extremely well. At the other end, 45% say they’re worried whether they’ll have enough income and assets to last through their retirement years or won’t retire at all. All told, only 29% say they want to live to be 100, with the average saying they want to live until age 91. “We know the demographics are there in terms of older adults,” Thrash-Sall says. “(At Horizon House) we're looking at other industries to see what we can borrow, what other people are doing, what hasn't been done before, and how we can be a leader in aging services.”