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Delaware has quietly become one of the fastest-aging states in the country — a shift that’s reshaping the way health care is delivered across the First State. As more retirees settle in coastal communities and longtime residents grow older, the strain on hospitals, primary care providers and long-term care systems is mounting.

Currently, nearly 1 in 4 Delawareans is age 60 or older, and that number is climbing. Between 2006 and 2022, the number of residents over the age of 65 shot up by 61%. According to the state’s official plan on aging, adults aged 60 and older will make up almost 34% of Delaware’s population by 2040. Even more striking, the population of Delawareans aged 85 and older is projected to increase by more than 170% in the same time frame.

But the future isn’t just coming — it’s already here.

“We’re actually the eighth-oldest population in the country and we’re also the sixth-fastest growing in the country,” said Brian Frazee, president and CEO of the Delaware Healthcare Association. “Last year, Bankrate rated us the number one state in the country to retire because this is a great, great place to be.”

This dual reality — a population that’s aging fast and growing fast — is changing the demands on health care across all three counties.

“Our total state population is projected to increase by 9% before 2040, and the 85 and up population is expected to more than double in that time period,” Frazee said. “The 65 and up population would increase by more than 41%.”

Those numbers translate into real pressures inside hospitals and health care networks. Older adults tend to require more frequent care, and that means more doctors, more nurses and more services are needed, immediately and in the long term.

“It’s impacting us tremendously,” Frazee said. “We know that we utilize more health care services as we age, and that continues to increase the demand on our health care workforce in Delaware and the services that we’re able to provide.”