Skip to Main Content

Housing for seniors is becoming critical for Texas, new study suggests

aerial photo of suburban neighborhood

Image: Wikimedia Commons

The number of Texans age 60 and older will increase by 217 percent between 2010 and 2050, making senior housing options an increasingly critical issue, according to a new demographic study commissioned and published by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. The study includes a projection that the state’s senior population will reach nearly 12 million by 2050, up from 3.8 million in 2010.

The study, Growth in Elderly Populations: Implications for Texas Real Estate Markets, was written by Steve Murdock, founding director of Rice University’s Hobby Center for the Study of Texas and formerly a member of the Texas A&M University faculty, and Michael Cline, associate director of the Rice center.

While most Texas metros can expect significant increases in their 60+ populations, much of the growth for that demographic will be in the state’s four largest metros, with Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos leading the way at 455 percent, the study shows.

Other growth projections:

  • Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, nearly 318 percent
  • Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 304 percent.
  • McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, 264 percent
  • Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, 218 percent
  • San Antonio-New Braunfels, 204.5 percent
  • College Station-Bryan, 184 percent
  • Odessa, 154 percent
  • Midland, 149 percent
  • Brownsville-Harlingen, 145 percent
  • Amarillo, 121 percent

Murdock and Cline say in their report that growth in the 60+ age demographic could be sufficient to support a range of housing options and may represent an important source of new real estate development for Texas.

“Developing such markets will likely require continued careful analysis and innovative product development while at the same time paying close attention to the long-established limitations and preferences of the elderly,” they add. “Elderly housing markets in Texas should continue to provide both substantial opportunities and challenges.”

Read the report