Arizona has one of America's smallest 65+ workforces

Arizona has one of the largest senior populations in the U.S., but one of its smallest workforces of people 65 or older.

The big picture: Only 15% of Arizonans ages 65 and up were working in 2023, according to preliminary census data.

• That's well below the national average of 18.7%.
• Arizona's population people 65+ is lower than all but three states: West Virginia (13.3), Mississippi (13.6) and Arkansas (14.6).
• Vermont (25.6%), Iowa (23.9%) and Maryland (23.4%) have the highest share of 65-and-up adults in the workforce , according to preliminary 2023 census data.

Between the lines: The 2024 presidential campaign between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is sparking a fresh conversation about age, ability and mental acuity.

Context: Arizona's low number belies its reputation as a haven for seniors.

• The state has one of the highest percentages of senior populations in the U.S. at 18.3%.
• According to U.S. Census data from 2021, the percentage of Arizona's population that was 65 and older was higher than all but 13 states.

Jeremy's thought bubble: I was initially surprised to see Arizona rank so low in the percentage of working seniors, but it made more sense once I started to think about it.

• Arizona has long had a reputation as an elderly state because it's a retirement destination.
• Seniors move to retirement communities like Sun City from the Midwest and East Coast to enjoy their golden years, not because they came to Arizona for a new job.

Zoom out: Fewer older Americans are working now compared to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Axios' Emily Peck reports.

• Today's older workers are better educated, working more hours, and more likely to be receiving employer benefits, compared to past decades, per a 2023 Pew Research Center report .

Yes, but: The share of older adults in the workforce has been generally rising since the late 1980s, Emily writes.

• That's in part because of changes to Social Security and retirement plans, and in part because medical advances are extending Americans' lives and their time in the workforce.

Context: America is getting older , and people 65 and older are expected to make up 20% of the country's population by 2030 and 23% by 2050.

• In 2022 that number was 17%, per census data.