Background 

In 2007, the Carver County Board of Commissioners created the Office of Aging to prepare the County for a massive number of older Baby Boomers and to change the face, fabric and culture of aging in the County.

While the Carver County population is doubling, the number of residents age 65 and over is expected to quadruple, increasing from 5,246 in 2000 to 24,490 in 2030. More than 90 percent of these older residents will be Baby Boomers born between 1946-1964. These older residents have had different life experiences and have different expectations from today's seniors.

Charge of the Office of Aging

The challenge for Carver County and its cities is to create communities that Baby Boomers will want to stay in as they age. The Office of Aging identifies how Carver County will change with the aging of the Boomers and works to educate residents, local governments, businesses, civic groups and school districts on those changes.  Additionally, it supports the work of city-level aging commissions and collaborates with community partners to identify how to meet the needs of Boomers.

Planning the growth of cities to meet the needs of Boomers is critical to maintaining residents in the County. Over the next twenty years, an average of 10,000 people will turn 65 years old every day in the United States. What Baby Boomers think about, aspire to do and want to buy all make a big difference in the our local economy and the social trends that shape our lives. Unfortunately the current systems in place aren't adequate to meet the demands of aging, and are extremely inadequate to meet Baby Boomer's expectations.

Initiatives