EASTON, MARYLAND — Talbot County has the highest share of residents 65 and older in Maryland, 30.5%, up from 20.4% in 2010, according to a community needs assessment from Upper Shore Aging, the Area Agency on Aging for Caroline, Kent and Talbot counties.
The report projects Talbot's 65-plus share will reach 34% by 2030.
Upper Shore Aging serves more than 31,000 older adults across the three counties through 17 programs, the report says. Rivers & Roads Consulting helped develop it.
Among its Talbot findings:
- 2,131 seniors live alone in the county, based on Census Bureau survey data for 2018 to 2022.
- Seniors make up roughly 35% of weekly food pantry clients.
- 39% of Talbot households were below the ALICE threshold in 2021, according to the 2023 United Way ALICE Report. ALICE describes households that are asset-limited, income-constrained and employed.
- An estimated 14.5% of residents live with a disability, rising to roughly 34% to 37% among those 65 and older.
- The county's Senior Care Program served 207 low-income seniors in fiscal 2024 but had a waitlist of 31 people who qualified and could not be served because of limited funding.
Across the three counties, people interviewed for the report named transportation as a main barrier to reaching services even where services exist, along with a need for clearer, better coordinated information.
The report is posted on Upper Shore Aging's website.
Source: Upper Shore Aging
Drawn from public records; drafted with AI and edited by Peter Gorman before publication.
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