IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/uersib/352131.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Aging and Wildfire Risk to Communities

Author

Listed:
  • Winkler, Richelle L.
  • Mockrin, Miranda H.

Abstract

The population of the United States is aging as the Baby Boom generation grows older. In 2020, 23 percent of the U.S. population had reached age 60 (older ages). The share of the population at older ages is forecast to increase to 26 percent in 2030 and 29 percent in 2050. Wildfire risks are also increasing, and older populations are especially vulnerable. This report found that most (87 percent) of the recent population growth in places with moderate-to-high wildfire risk has been among people over the age of 60. Already, the proportion of older people living in places with more wildfire risk is higher than in the population at large. In rural areas with the greatest wildfire risk, 35 percent of people living in those areas are over the age of 60. The number of older people exposed to wildfire risk is expected to increase as populations grow older and as wildfire increases in frequency and intensity.

Suggested Citation

  • Winkler, Richelle L. & Mockrin, Miranda H., 2025. "Aging and Wildfire Risk to Communities," Economic Information Bulletin 352131, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersib:352131
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.352131
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/352131/files/EIB-284.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.352131?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John W. Rowe & Robert L. Kahn, 2015. "Successful Aging 2.0: Conceptual Expansions for the 21st Century," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 70(4), pages 593-596.
    2. Cromartie, John, 2018. "Rural America At A Glance 2018 Edition," Economic Information Bulletin 282512, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Colleen Cummings Melton & Carson M. De Fries & Rebecca M. Smith & Lisa Reyes Mason, 2023. "Wildfires and Older Adults: A Scoping Review of Impacts, Risks, and Interventions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-22, June.
    4. Beale, Calvin L., 2005. "Rural America as a Retirement Destination," Brazilian Journal of Rural Economy and Sociology (RESR), Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural, June.
    5. Shahir Masri & Erica Scaduto & Yufang Jin & Jun Wu, 2021. "Disproportionate Impacts of Wildfires among Elderly and Low-Income Communities in California from 2000–2020," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-20, April.
    6. Beale, Calvin L., 2005. "Rural America as a Retirement Destination," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, pages 1-1, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maria Akers & Jason Henderson, 2009. "Coming home to rural America: demographic shifts in the Tenth District," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, vol. 94(Q III), pages 65-90.
    2. Jadranka Plužarić & Ivana Barać & Vesna Ilakovac & Robert Lovrić & Nikolina Farčić & Željko Mudri & Marija Barišić & Ivana Pavlić, 2023. "Connectedness and Successful Aging of Older Adults in Croatia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Ivan R. Molton & Kathryn M. Yorkston, 2017. "Growing Older With a Physical Disability: A Special Application of the Successful Aging Paradigm," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(2), pages 290-299.
    4. Jd Carpentieri & Jane Elliott & Caroline Brett & Ian Deary, 2016. "Adding Narratives to Numbers in a Mixed Methods Study of Successful Ageing: The 6-Day Sample of the Scottish Mental Survey 1947," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 21(2), pages 67-92, May.
    5. Marina Plugge, 2021. "Successful ageing in the oldest old: objectively and subjectively measured evidence from a population-based survey in Germany," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 537-547, December.
    6. Jeehoon Kim & Hee Yun Lee & M Candace Christensen & Joseph R Merighi, 2017. "Technology Access and Use, and Their Associations With Social Engagement Among Older Adults: Do Women and Men Differ?," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(5), pages 836-845.
    7. Weng, Yulei & Yang, Xiaocong, 2023. "Fertility behaviors and mid-late-life health status in China: From a life-course perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    8. Canavire-Bacarreza, Gustavo & Puerta-Cuartas, Alejandro & Ramos, Andrey, 2025. "On the effects of wildfires on poverty in Bolivia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    9. Jong Won Min, 2019. "The Influence of Stigma and Views on Mental Health Treatment Effectiveness on Service Use by Age and Ethnicity: Evidence From the CDC BRFSS 2007, 2009, and 2012," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, September.
    10. Kimiko Tomioka & Norio Kurumatani & Keigo Saeki, 2018. "The differential effects of type and frequency of social participation on IADL declines of older people," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, November.
    11. Lawrence A. Palinkas & Jessenia De Leon & Kexin Yu & Erika Salinas & Cecilia Fernandez & Jill Johnston & Md Mostafijur Rahman & Sam J. Silva & Michael Hurlburt & Rob S. McConnell & Erika Garcia, 2023. "Adaptation Resources and Responses to Wildfire Smoke and Other Forms of Air Pollution in Low-Income Urban Settings: A Mixed-Methods Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(7), pages 1-16, April.
    12. Meldrum, James R. & Champ, Patricia A. & Brenkert-Smith, Hannah & Barth, Christopher M. & McConnell, Abby E. & Wagner, Carolyn & Donovan, Colleen, 2024. "Rethinking cost-share programs in consideration of economic equity: A case study of wildfire risk mitigation assistance for private landowners," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    13. Ben Lennox Kail & Dawn C. Carr, 2017. "Successful Aging in the Context of the Disablement Process: Working and Volunteering as Moderators on the Association Between Chronic Conditions and Subsequent Functional Limitations," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(2), pages 340-350.
    14. Qiushi Feng & Wei-Jun Jean Yeung & Zhenglian Wang & Yi Zeng, 2019. "Age of Retirement and Human Capital in an Aging China, 2015–2050," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(1), pages 29-62, February.
    15. Ankita Mohapatra & Timothy Trinh, 2022. "Early Wildfire Detection Technologies in Practice—A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-21, September.
    16. Ulrich Wiesmann & Ilka Ballas & Hans-Joachim Hannich, 2018. "Sense of Coherence, Time Perspective and Positive Aging," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 817-839, March.
    17. Fiona S. Rupprecht & M. Clara P. Paula Couto & Klaus Rothermund & Jana Nikitin, 2025. "Maintaining a young self-concept: Feeling young or shifting age thresholds?," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-9, December.
    18. Jean‐Francois Trani & Megan Giesecke & Peter Hovmand & Nicholas Miller & Mary Kate Cartmill & Nicandro Mandujano Acevedo & Sandra Lee & William Liem & Braveheart Gillani & Ganesh Babulal, 2024. "Ageing among Black and non‐Hispanic White older adults: A community‐based system dynamics approach to examining quality of life," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 30-51, January.
    19. Kelsey L. Conley & Brian E. Whitacre, 2020. "Home Is Where the Internet Is? High-speed Internet’s Impact on Rural Housing Values," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 43(5), pages 501-530, September.
    20. Versey, H. Shellae, 2018. "A tale of two Harlems: Gentrification, social capital, and implications for aging in place," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 1-11.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:uersib:352131. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ersgvus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.