Cecily O'Connor
RedwoodAge.com
If you're a boomer living in California or the South, you're in good company.
The Golden State counts about 8.9 million boomers among its residents, said a new report from the Census Bureau. Texas, with 5.6 million boomers, has the second-highest boomer population, followed by New York (5.1 million), Florida (4.6 million) and Pennsylvania (3.4 million).
Overall, the South has 28 million boomers, about 35 percent of the total.
| Rank | Region | Boomers |
| 1 | South | 28,060,126 |
| 2 | Midwest | 17,569,066 |
| 3 | West | 17,421,670 |
| 4 | Northeast | 14,929,43 |
The report, based on various population and demographic data from 2000 and 2006, is the first profile the bureau has provided of boomers in 13 years. As of then, boomers were age 42 to 60 (now 45-63), totaled an estimated 78 million and comprised 26.1 percent of the total US population.
The vast majority of boomers were born in the US, while about 14 percent were foreign born. Most are white, married and went to college.
While marketers tend to love statistics such as this, it's important to remember boomers' characteristics go well beyond their sheer size. This is a generation that fought for civil rights and equal rights for women. They grew up watching the Mickey Mouse Club on TV - the same medium that enabled them to witness the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Boomers also started the sexual revolution.
Today's Challenges
While boomers' growing pains had lessened by 2006, they still face many
challenges today.
About 74.1 of boomers were gainfully employed in 2006, however, that statistic has likely shifted recently. The down US economy produced layoffs among all age groups, and job openings now remain close to record lows. Boomers also saw a substantial chunk of the life savings vanish last year in the market meltdown, forcing millions of them to postpone retirement plans.
Even so, boomer talent will likely be in high demand as the economy begins to recover and companies seek out experienced workers. Moreover, some boomers are taking advantage of the down time to explore an "encore career" that places them in an entirely different job setting.
Even with stresses related to jobs and aging, about two-thirds of boomers were married in 2006. About 17 percent were divorced, 3 percent had separated and 2.7 percent were widowed. Another 11 percent never tied the knot.
Nearly 30 percent of boomers attended college, while 28 percent went on for an even higher degree.
