If you've noticed more "aging in place" conversations lately — from your parents, your neighbors, or your own planning — you're picking up on something real. A wave of recent research shows the number of older adults staying in their own homes is climbing fast, and in many cases, their homes and support systems weren't built for what's coming next.
Here's what the data actually shows, and why it matters for families in Grand Rapids, Wyoming, and across West Michigan.
According to AARP's 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey, 75% of adults 50 and older want to remain in their current home as they age, and 73% want to stay in their current community. That preference has only grown stronger over the past decade.
It's not just a preference — it's a demographic shift. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that sometime between 2020 and 2025, the share of Americans age 65 and older surpassed the share age 5 and younger for the first time in recorded history. Nationally, 18.9% of the population is now 65 or older, a figure projected to keep climbing for decades.
Michigan is feeling this directly. State population data shows Michigan's 65-plus population grew roughly 64% between 2005 and 2025 — adding about 800,000 residents. And the fastest growth is still ahead: the number of Michiganders age 85 and older is projected to grow by as much as 150% by 2050, a group that typically needs the most day-to-day support to remain safely at home.
The trouble is, a lot of the housing stock older adults are aging in wasn't designed with them in mind. Research from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies found the median U.S. home is now 44 years old — up from 39 years just a decade ago — and roughly 1 in 4 homeowner households live in homes built before 1960. Older homes come with older systems, tighter bathrooms, uneven steps, and none of the small features — grab bars, better lighting, no-step entries — that make a home genuinely safe to age in.
That gap shows up in what people say they need. In the same AARP survey, 51% of adults 50+ acknowledged their home isn't currently set up to support them as they get older. Seventy-two percent expect they'll need grab bars at some point, and 71% expect entryway improvements. Notably, 44% of respondents actually expect they'll have to relocate despite wanting to stay — and among that group, 60% point to property maintenance costs as a driving reason, not because they want to move, but because keeping up the home became unaffordable or unmanageable.
This isn't just about comfort — it's about safety. The CDC reports that more than 1 in 4 older adults falls each year, and falling once roughly doubles the risk of falling again. Falls send about 3 million older adults to the emergency room annually, cause roughly 1 million hospitalizations, and lead to around 319,000 hip fracture hospitalizations a year. Falls are also the leading cause of traumatic brain injury among older adults. Loose railings, dim stairwells, uneven walkways, and small home-repair items that get put off are exactly the kind of everyday hazards behind numbers like these.
For families hoping to fill the gap themselves, the numbers tell a hard truth: there often isn't the bandwidth. AARP's Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 report counted 63 million family caregivers nationwide — a nearly 50% jump since 2015, and now roughly 1 in 4 adults. More than 40% of caregivers are providing high-intensity care, seven in ten are also holding down jobs, and half report the arrangement has hurt them financially. Adult children juggling work, their own kids, and a parent's home repairs are running out of hours in the day — even when they want to help.
Put together, the research points to the same conclusion from a few different directions: more seniors are choosing to stay in their homes, those homes are older and less prepared for it, the safety stakes of neglected maintenance are real, and the family members who'd normally step in are stretched thinner than ever.
That's the exact gap Titan Home & Exterior Services was built to close for families in Grand Rapids and Wyoming, MI. Regular home safety walkthroughs, small repairs handled before they become hazards, and someone reliable checking in — that's what turns "aging in place" from a hope into something that actually holds up. If you're weighing what your own home (or a parent's) might need to stay safe and manageable for years to come, our Home Stability Program is built around exactly that kind of proactive, ongoing care.
Reach out anytime to talk through what your situation looks like — no pressure, just a conversation about what would actually help.
