By the numbers: Older adults living alone

12 million

The number of Americans over age 65 who live alone, according to a report by the Pew Research Center. The percentage of older adults who live alone quintupled from 6 percent in 1900 to a peak of 29 percent in 1990, and has slowly declined since then, to 26 percent in 2014.

69 percent

The percentage of those older adults who are women. In 1990, women made up a greater share of older adults living alone (79 percent). But since then, the percentage of older women living alone has decreased from 38 percent to 32 percent, while the percentage of older men living alone has risen slightly from 15 percent to 18 percent.

1/3

The share of older adults living alone who say they are financially comfortable. In contrast, nearly half of those who live with others say they are able to live comfortably. Twelve percent of those living alone say they don't even have enough money to meet basic expenses, compared with 5 percent of those who live with others.

48 percent

The percentage of older men living alone who say that they are "very satisfied" with the number of friends they have, compared with 62 percent of men who live with others. In contrast, women who live alone are slightly more likely to be satisfied with their number of friendships (71 percent) than women who live with others (67 percent).

61 percent

The percentage of older adults who would prefer to age in their own home, with a caregiver, according a to a Pew survey. Seventeen percent would prefer to move to an assisted living facility, 8 percent would prefer to move in with family and 4 percent would prefer to move to a nursing home.

Source: Stepler, R. (2016 February). Smaller share of women ages 65 and older are living alone: More are living with spouse or children. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.