Upper West Side Ranks Second to East in Senior Population

According to New York University's Furman Research Center, almost as many people over the age of 65 live on the West Side as on the East Side of Manhattan. Nearly 20% of people who live on the East Side are over 65. Because more people live on the West Side, the percentage of people over 65 is almost 17%. Not surpisingly, in the Financial District, Greenwich Village and Soho, the numbers drop significantly with only 11 percent of the population 65 or older. And on the Lower East Side, 14.4 percent of the population are at the "golden age."

It may sound like the Upper West Side and Upper East Side are neck in neck in terms of an aging population, but in reality, the Upper West Side's demographic over age 65 has only grown one-tenth of a percent from 2010 to 2011, whereas, in just one year on the Upper East Side, the senior population has shot up 2.2 percent. In fact, the Upper East Side has the most rapidly aging population in the entire city, according to the Furman Center's study entitled, "Gossip Girls or Golden Girls?" The senior citizen population spiked 5.6 percent from 2000-2011 on the Upper East Side. Only Coney Island still has a larger percentage of retirees ? almost one-quarter of Coney residents are over 65, but the Upper East Side numbers are catching up.

According to the

2010 U.S. Census:

10023 - West 59th-76th streets (approx,)

17.6% are 65 and older

10,712 people 65 and older

10024 - West 77th-90th streets (approx.)

16.8% are 65 and older

9,954 people 65 and older

10025 - West 90th-110th streets (approx.)

15.9% are 65 and older

15,037 people are 65 and older