California’s Aging Crisis

My aging parents have made research feel deeply personal, not abstract. As I think about what it means to age with dignity, safety, and access to care, I’m reminded that research is at its best when it helps us understand the real conditions families face—whether they are navigating health systems, coordinating caregiving, or planning for the future with limited support. Their experience keeps me grounded in the importance of asking practical, human-centered questions that can lead to better policies, stronger services, and more responsive systems for older adults and the people who care for them. This is not just a challenge my family faces.

In 2026, as California advances its Master Plan for Aging ahead of 2030, the state is at a demographic tipping point. With life expectancy at 81.9 years (second highest in the nation), more than 25% of Californians will be aged 60 or older by 2030. By 2040, this figure rises to 28%, or 11.4 million people. This growth is profoundly diverse: non-white older adults will outnumber whites, driven by increasing Latino and Asian elder populations. At the same time, the population of adults aged 80 and older is projected to rise by 238%, increasing demand for long-term care, age-friendly housing, caregiver assistance, and other supports.

These changes have broad implications for California’s public systems, including health care, Medi-Cal, caregiving, transportation, and the direct service workforce. The state will need policies and investments that reflect the growing size, diversity, and needs of its aging population. As the aging population grows larger, service models must be flexible, community-rooted, and culturally grounded. Ultimately, we want to honor older adults by building a future for them that benefits all of us.

In order to understand these dynamics, we at the USC Equity Research Institute conducted interviews with leaders from several California organizations serving older adults, especially in under-resourced regions, to identify both strengths and opportunities. Below are the key findings from our interviews:

1. Housing instability

Housing instability emerged as a pervasive and acute crisis across interviews, frequently cited as a foundational barrier to older adults’ well-being. Organizations described how older adults faced the risk of homelessness because of their fixed incomes could not keep pace with rising costs, systematic evictions from mobile home parks, the physical or financial challenges of maintaining aging homes, and broader neighborhood changes that erode affordability.

A recurring solution-oriented theme was the need for accessible transportation and walkable communities where older adults could reach grocery stores, social spaces, and services without relying on unreliable personal vehicles or infrequent public transit. This instability compounds other vulnerabilities, as housing loss triggers cascading effects on health, nutrition, and social ties, underscoring the imperative for policy interventions like rent stabilization and resident-controlled models such as cooperatives.

2. Health care access

Access to health care was characterized as fragmented and inequitable, with organizations highlighting managed-care approval delays, shortages of local providers (especially culturally competent ones), transportation barriers that make it harder to keep doctor appointments, and systems ill-equipped for linguistic or cultural needs. One of our interviewees described the health care system as “uneven and blocked,” where geography, bureaucracy, and language proficiency determine outcomes more than medical need.

For example, waitlists for adult day health centers, challenges securing Medi-Cal approvals, and limited English proficiency were repeatedly flagged as turning routine care into struggles. Interviewees emphasized impacts such as worsened chronic health conditions, increased reliance on emergency services, and heightened isolation.

3. Data gaps

Many interviewees shared that existing public data is too generic, and failure to disaggregate by race, income, ability, and other factors make it difficult to target resources. There were specific data gaps for older adults on things like systematic evictions, ownership changes, rent increases, and post-eviction outcomes.

Data on Black older adults aged 50-64, incarceration sentencing patterns, distance to services in rural areas, and intersections of aging with race/income/housing were also shared as gaps. Many organizations relied on internal, informal surveys rather than robust, evidence-based datasets, limiting their advocacy leverage. Interviewees advocated pairing quantitative data with qualitative data to learn from lived experience, university partnerships for custom datasets, and narrative approaches to capture shifts like post-COVID needs. They believed that better data would unlock much-needed funding, policy wins, and equitable planning.

4. Social and institutional marginalization

Social and institutional marginalization was a major theme across our interviews, with descriptions of older adults as the “Invisible Generation—unseen, unheard, and devalued in policy arenas.”

Several interviewees cited a lack of culturally competent services, loneliness, and social disconnection. Some described places like senior centers and hospice services as disrespectful, while others noted a lack of intergenerational spaces. Diverse groups, such as Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) elders, were often grouped into the “other” category, obscuring specific communities’ needs. Limited English proficiency exacerbated these challenges and hindered navigation of health care, housing, benefits, and emergency services—fostering dependency on under-resourced community organizations.

5. Caregivers’ needs

Caregiving emerged as an under-resourced aspect of older adults’ stability, with calls for enhanced training, navigation, fair wages, protections, and matching infrastructure to alleviate burdens on family caregivers. Several interviewees noted exhaustion among immigrant Latina caregivers lacking retirement security, confusion over local or state program availability, and broader systemic gaps in compensation and support. One interviewee highlighted that models like Promotora education (training Latino community members to serve as lay health educators and advocates), Caring Hands training, and medical-legal partnerships were promising efforts for caregivers and care resources alike.

6. Intergenerational leadership

Many interviewees positioned older adults as assets—wisdom holders, civic leaders, and organizers—who can foster multigenerational models that amplify collective power. Examples included Vietnamese seniors leading rent stabilization campaigns with youth partners; incarcerated elders mentoring via storytelling at the Freedom and Movement Center; and faith-based activities across generations to share end-of-life wisdom. Intergenerational housing was also shared as a strength. This framing rejected passive roles, instead leveraging older adults’ experience for community wins (e.g., parks over stadiums) and long-term resilience, with further calls to center their voices in advocacy.

The California Master Plan on Aging offers five bold goals: Housing For All Ages & Stages; Health Reimagined; Inclusion & Equity, Not Isolation; Caregiving That Works; and Affordable Aging. The overall message is that “the next generation of older adults in California will be significantly more diverse, will live longer, and will contribute in untold new ways to making our state a more vibrant place.”

Older adults and the communities around them are navigating housing instability, caregiving strain, health access barriers, and social isolation in real time. Investing in older adults and the organizations that serve them—particularly through racial, immigrant, and community justice lenses—is investing in the future of the Golden State.