---
title: "The oldest Baby Boomers turn 80 in 2026"
description: "Baby Boomers – adults born between 1946 and 1964 – will soon reach a milestone, when the oldest members of this generation turn 80. "
date: "2026-01-09"
authors:
  - name: "Richard Fry"
    job_title: "Senior Researcher"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/richard-fry/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/01/09/the-oldest-baby-boomers-turn-80-in-2026/"
categories:
  - "Baby Boomers"
  - "Older Adults & Aging"
---

# The oldest Baby Boomers turn 80 in 2026

[![Stock photo of a man and woman celebrating an 80th birthday with cake.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/SR_25.12.21_BoomerPop_featured@2x.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/sr_25-12-21_boomerpop_featured2x/)
*(Fabio Formaggio via Getty Images)*

Baby Boomers will soon reach another milestone: In 2026, the oldest members of this generation will turn 80.

The [Baby Boom generation](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/generations-age/generations/baby-boomers/) refers to adults born between 1946 and 1964. The name reflects the sharp and prolonged increase in fertility that occurred in the wake of World War II.

**About this research**

This Pew Research Center analysis updates the size of the U.S. Baby Boomer population and incorporates the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau population projections to 2100.

**Why did we do this?**

[Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/about/) conducts high-quality research to inform the public, journalists and decision-makers.

The postwar baby boom has fundamentally changed U.S. society in many ways, from the political to the economic, social and demographic. Pew Research Center has a long-standing research focus on the impacts of the [Baby Boomers](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/generations-age/generations/baby-boomers/), including documenting the [milestones of the generation](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2010/12/20/baby-boomers-approach-65-glumly/#58ba8bed95a832413913371511fa10a8).

**How did we do this?**

This analysis primarily uses U.S. Census Bureau [population estimates](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/about.html) and [projections](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popproj/about.html) by single year of age. Historical county population estimates are available at the [SEER website](https://seer.cancer.gov/popdata/download.html).

The National Center for Health Statistics compiles [U.S. live births](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data-visualization/natality-trends/index.htm).

The United States saw a total of 76 million births during the boom, with the annual number surpassing 4 million in 1954 and remaining above that level until 1965. The annual number of births would not surpass 4 million again until 1989.

### The Baby Boom generation: 76 million births occurred in U.S. from 1946 to 1964

*Number of U.S. births by year, in millions*

| Year | Births | Baby Boomer births |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1928 | 2.7 |  |
| 1929 | 2.6 |  |
| 1930 | 2.6 |  |
| 1931 | 2.5 |  |
| 1932 | 2.4 |  |
| 1933 | 2.3 |  |
| 1934 | 2.4 |  |
| 1935 | 2.4 |  |
| 1936 | 2.4 |  |
| 1937 | 2.4 |  |
| 1938 | 2.5 |  |
| 1939 | 2.5 |  |
| 1940 | 2.6 |  |
| 1941 | 2.7 |  |
| 1942 | 3.0 |  |
| 1943 | 3.1 |  |
| 1944 | 2.9 |  |
| 1945 | 2.9 |  |
| 1946 |  | 3.4 |
| 1947 |  | 3.8 |
| 1948 |  | 3.6 |
| 1949 |  | 3.6 |
| 1950 |  | 3.6 |
| 1951 |  | 3.8 |
| 1952 |  | 3.9 |
| 1953 |  | 4.0 |
| 1954 |  | 4.1 |
| 1955 |  | 4.1 |
| 1956 |  | 4.2 |
| 1957 |  | 4.3 |
| 1958 |  | 4.2 |
| 1959 |  | 4.3 |
| 1960 |  | 4.3 |
| 1961 |  | 4.3 |
| 1962 |  | 4.2 |
| 1963 |  | 4.1 |
| 1964 |  | 4.0 |
| 1965 | 3.8 |  |
| 1966 | 3.6 |  |
| 1967 | 3.5 |  |
| 1968 | 3.5 |  |
| 1969 | 3.6 |  |
| 1970 | 3.7 |  |
| 1971 | 3.6 |  |
| 1972 | 3.3 |  |
| 1973 | 3.1 |  |
| 1974 | 3.2 |  |
| 1975 | 3.1 |  |
| 1976 | 3.2 |  |
| 1977 | 3.3 |  |
| 1978 | 3.3 |  |
| 1979 | 3.5 |  |
| 1980 | 3.6 |  |
| 1981 | 3.6 |  |
| 1982 | 3.7 |  |
| 1983 | 3.6 |  |
| 1984 | 3.7 |  |
| 1985 | 3.8 |  |
| 1986 | 3.8 |  |
| 1987 | 3.8 |  |
| 1988 | 3.9 |  |
| 1989 | 4.0 |  |
| 1990 | 4.2 |  |
| 1991 | 4.1 |  |
| 1992 | 4.1 |  |
| 1993 | 4.0 |  |
| 1994 | 4.0 |  |
| 1995 | 3.9 |  |
| 1996 | 3.9 |  |
| 1997 | 3.9 |  |
| 1998 | 3.9 |  |
| 1999 | 4.0 |  |
| 2000 | 4.1 |  |
| 2001 | 4.0 |  |
| 2002 | 4.0 |  |
| 2003 | 4.1 |  |
| 2004 | 4.1 |  |
| 2005 | 4.1 |  |
| 2006 | 4.3 |  |
| 2007 | 4.3 |  |
| 2008 | 4.2 |  |
| 2009 | 4.1 |  |
| 2010 | 4.0 |  |
| 2011 | 4.0 |  |
| 2012 | 4.0 |  |
| 2013 | 3.9 |  |
| 2014 | 4.0 |  |
| 2015 | 4.0 |  |
| 2016 | 3.9 |  |
| 2017 | 3.9 |  |
| 2018 | 3.8 |  |
| 2019 | 3.7 |  |
| 2020 | 3.6 |  |
| 2021 | 3.7 |  |
| 2022 | 3.7 |  |
| 2023 | 3.6 |  |
| 2024 | 3.6 |  |

Note: All figures rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics.

Besides marking the end of the Baby Boom generation, 1964 also marked the peak of the generation as a share of the total U.S. population. The Census Bureau estimated that there were 72.5 million Baby Boomers on July 1, 1964, [accounting for 37%](https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/demo/p25-1141.pdf) of the population.

While Boomers peaked as a *share* of the population in 1964, their absolute *number* peaked at 79 million in 1999. This increase was due to increased immigration to the U.S. in the second half of the 20th century.

### U.S. Baby Boom generation, past, present and future

*U.S. population born 1946 to 1964, in millions*

| Year | Population |
| --- | --- |
| 1969 | 73 |
| 1970 | 73 |
| 1971 | 73 |
| 1972 | 74 |
| 1973 | 74 |
| 1974 | 74 |
| 1975 | 74 |
| 1976 | 75 |
| 1977 | 75 |
| 1978 | 75 |
| 1979 | 76 |
| 1980 | 76 |
| 1981 | 76 |
| 1982 | 76 |
| 1983 | 77 |
| 1984 | 76 |
| 1985 | 76 |
| 1986 | 77 |
| 1987 | 77 |
| 1988 | 77 |
| 1989 | 77 |
| 1990 | 77 |
| 1991 | 77 |
| 1992 | 78 |
| 1993 | 78 |
| 1994 | 78 |
| 1995 | 78 |
| 1996 | 79 |
| 1997 | 79 |
| 1998 | 79 |
| 1999 | 79 |
| 2000 | 79 |
| 2001 | 79 |
| 2002 | 79 |
| 2003 | 78 |
| 2004 | 78 |
| 2005 | 78 |
| 2006 | 78 |
| 2007 | 78 |
| 2008 | 78 |
| 2009 | 78 |
| 2010 | 77 |
| 2011 | 77 |
| 2012 | 77 |
| 2013 | 76 |
| 2014 | 76 |
| 2015 | 75 |
| 2016 | 75 |
| 2017 | 74 |
| 2018 | 73 |
| 2019 | 72 |
| 2020 | 71 |
| 2021 | 70 |
| 2022 | 69 |
| 2023 | 68 |
| 2024 | 67 |
| 2025 | 65 |
| 2026 | 64 |
| 2027 | 63 |
| 2028 | 62 |
| 2029 | 60 |
| 2030 | 59 |
| 2031 | 57 |
| 2032 | 55 |
| 2033 | 54 |
| 2034 | 52 |
| 2035 | 50 |
| 2036 | 48 |
| 2037 | 45 |
| 2038 | 43 |
| 2039 | 41 |
| 2040 | 38 |
| 2041 | 36 |
| 2042 | 34 |
| 2043 | 31 |
| 2044 | 29 |
| 2045 | 26 |
| 2046 | 24 |
| 2047 | 22 |
| 2048 | 19 |
| 2049 | 17 |
| 2050 | 15 |
| 2051 | 13 |
| 2052 | 11 |
| 2053 | 10 |
| 2054 | 8 |
| 2055 | 7 |
| 2056 | 6 |
| 2057 | 5 |
| 2058 | 4 |
| 2059 | 3 |
| 2060 | 2 |
| 2061 | 2 |
| 2062 | 1 |
| 2063 | 1 |
| 2064 | 1 |

Note: All figures rounded to the nearest million. These estimates and projections include both native-born and foreign-born residents.

Source: Pew Research Center tabulations of U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for 1969-2024 and U.S. Census Bureau population projections released 2023.

So how many Boomers are there today? As of July 1, 2024 – the most recent available data – there were an estimated 67 million Boomers, accounting for only 20% of the nation’s population.

The Census Bureau also periodically releases [projections of the U.S. population](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popproj.html). The bureau projects that the Boomer population will be about 1 million in 2062, when the youngest turn 98.

***Related: ***[*U.S. centenarian population is projected to quadruple over the next 30 years*](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/01/09/us-centenarian-population-is-projected-to-quadruple-over-the-next-30-years/)