About one-half (49 percent) of married-couple households with a householder 65 and over had annual incomes of $35,000 or more in 2001, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.

     The report, The Older Population in the United States: March 2002, also shows that among married-couple households with a householder 55 to 64, more than three-quarters (77 percent) had an income of $35,000 or more in 2001.

     "As the nation celebrates Older Americans Month in May, this is the perfect opportunity for the Census Bureau to focus on an increasingly important age group in our nation's demographic panorama," Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon said.

     The report also found that more than 1-in-8 people age 65 and over (4.5 million) were either working or looking for work in 2002. Among those ages 60 to 64, the proportions were 57 percent for men and 44 percent for women.

     On the education front, the profile of the older population shows that in 2002, among people 55 and over, three-fourths had at least a high school diploma. Older men and women in most age categories were equally likely to be high school graduates.

     Overall, 6-in-10 people age 55 and over were married and living with their spouse, with the percentage much higher for men (74 percent) than for women (50 percent).

     The older population was less racially and ethnically diverse than the younger population. While non-Hispanic whites comprised 66 percent of the population under 55, they made up 81 percent of those age 55 and over, the report said.

     A related Census Bureau publication, Facts for Features: Older Americans Month, contains additional information pertaining to the nation's older population, including statistics on voter turnout. For instance, 72 percent of citizens ages 65 to 74 voted in the last presidential election, the highest rate of any age group.

     Other highlights of the report:

• Among people 85 and over, 58 percent of men, but only 12 percent of women, were married and living with their spouse.
• Among those 55 to 64, 31 percent of men and 22 percent of women had a bachelor's degree or more education.
• In 2001, women 65 and over were more likely than men in this age group to be poor: 12.4 percent versus 7.0 percent.

     The report and accompanying tables present the latest data on the civilian population age 55 and over not living in institutions, such as nursing homes and correctional institutions. Characteristics, which are shown by age and sex, include race and Hispanic origin, marital status, educational attainment, labor force participation, family income and poverty status.

     The data are from the Annual Demographic Supplement to the March 2002 Current Population Survey, which uses Census 2000 as the base for its sample. As in all surveys, the data are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.