America Will Need $1 Trillion in New Senior Housing by 2040, Projections Show

America needs hundreds of thousands of new housing units to cater to its oldest citizens in the coming years, and that means a host of challenges for the industry.The population of Americans over 80 will grow by a third in five years, or 5 million people, by 2030, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau analyzed by real estate data group NIC MAP. And it will almost double by 2040, with 13 million more people over 80 compared to now.NIC's long term estimate is that the nation needs to add 576,000 units by 2030 and 1 million units by 2040, to keep up with that demand. That's a $1 trillion investment of new housing at a time when rising construction costs and other factors have driven a slump in senior housing construction. About 10,000 new senior units started construction in 2025, a third of 2021.But 80 is a good proxy for when people start seriously looking at senior housing. And that means those born in 1946—the start of the baby boom—are reaching that age, Arick Morton, CEO of NIC MAP, tells Realtor.com®."It's the worst of times, and then the best of times proposition," Morton says. "The arrival of the boomers has become sort of a mythological point. It's a good proxy for t...