County plans focus
on aging residents
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

As Watauga County grows in population, it’s also growing older in the average age of its residents.

According to projections from the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services, the average age of a Watauga County resident in 2030 will be four years older than it is now. While Watauga’s average age is still well below the state average, the numbers are skewed because of the large college-age population and because many elderly second-home owners have primary residences elsewhere.

An aging population will present more challenges for senior-service providers and an increasing strain on both health care and local government resources.

Angie Boitnotte, director of the Project on Aging, said the needs are already showing up as the elderly become more active and interested in their health. This will mean not only more demand for activities at the Lois E. Harrill Senior Center in Boone, but the possible addition of more senior centers in other areas of the county.

“I certainly think, in the beginning, we’ll see more requests for the senior center, both in types of programs and numbers of programs,” Boitnotte said. “As healthier people are aging in, they want more tai chi, yoga and other exercises and they’ll require different types of services.”

With expanding life spans, not only will the seniors create a population bubble, they will also be around longer to draw on various resources. “As they age, not all will be healthy, so they’ll require more in-home services,” Boitnotte said. “They’ll be healthier when they start and they’ll live longer. There will be a shift to more in-home aids and these additional people will require public services.”

Last year, the average Wataugan was 32.5 years old, though about 20 percent of the population is in the 20-to-24 age group. That number is projected to decline by nearly 300 people by 2030, while the upper age ranges will greatly increase, and population overall will go from 43,775 to nearly 47,000 overall. Currently, there are 2,927 people in the county aged 65 to 74, but that will increase to more than 5,000 by 2030. The increases for older age groups are even more dramatic, as the numbers of people ages 75 and up are projected to double during that time. The 65 people aged 95 and up will swell to 147 by 2030.

Those figures reflect Watauga County as graying faster than the state, which will see an average age increase of two years by 2030, up to 38.3 per person. In 2030, most counties will have more senior citizens than those aged 17 and under and Watauga’s average age will be 36.6.

A state study commission on aging has recommended more senior center outreach, improve adult-care homes and address the costs of long-term and in-home care. Other committees recommend an “aging data warehouse” be created to track senior populations and needs. The state’s Adult Protective Services laws are also under scrutiny, as they have not been revised in 30 years.

Boitnotte said elderly issues will become more critical locally since all funding for the senior center comes from county tax dollars.

The commissioners have discussed building a second senior center to serve the eastern end of the county, and the Western Watauga Community Center in Cove Creek could see more demand for senior services.

She added, the college-age population and seasonal residents who might use the senior center but not show up in census statistics create a moving target for future needs, and could make it difficult to make projections for long-term public costs of an aging population.