Here’s How Many Adults Are Working Past Retirement Age in Big Cities

As the landscape of retirement continues to evolve in the United States, a growing number of adults are choosing to remain in the workforce well beyond the typical retirement age.

This trend is particularly evident in America’s largest cities, where economic opportunities, cost of living and lifestyle preferences influence how far your retirement benefits will go. Collecting Social Security benefits is only one small source of income for retirees aged 62 to 67 years old, but that alone doesn’t lead to a comfortable retirement for many people.

GOBankingRates conducted a study to determine several labor statistics surrounding the full retirement age, how many people over 65 are still employed and other personal finance factors. Here are some key takeaways:

• The percentage of people over the age of 65 still in the workforce has been steadily increasing over the past few years, reflecting changes in both the economy and societal attitudes toward aging and retirement on a national level.
• The city with the highest percentage of people 65 and older still working was found to be Austin, Texas at 25.5%.
• With advancements in healthcare, people are living longer and healthier lives, enabling them to extend their working years — but this also means early retirement may not be ideal, if you are trying to stretch out your savings.
• Many older adults continue to work due to insufficient retirement savings, high medical expenses or the need to support dependents.
• A significant number of seniors with the benefit of aging past the required minimum for tax-free withdrawals from IRAs or 401(k)s still remain employed, because they enjoy their work and the social interaction it provides.
• The retirement age in America’s largest cities is often extended and most affected by economic influence, as there is a higher cost of living.

The trend of working past retirement age is prominent across some of the biggest cities in the U.S., driven by a mix of economic needs, personal fulfillment and societal changes. As life expectancy increases and the nature of work continues to evolve, more seniors will likely choose to extend their careers, reshaping the traditional concept of retirement.

Here is a breakdown of how many people past retirement age are still working in 30 of America’s largest cities, ranked by the most adults aged 65 and over still participating in the labor force. Factors included in the study include the total population of all ages, total population for ages 65 and over, mean household income for residents aged 65 and over with earnings, labor force participation rate for residents aged 65 and over, and unemployment rate for residents aged 65 and over.

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 249,764
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 18.70%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $98,525
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.50%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 117,749
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 22.60%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $97,776
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:   1.00%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 64,645
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 17.90%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $78,656
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.70%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 61,193
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 23.00%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $81,903
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  -0.20%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 39,956
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 17.90%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $69,165
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  1.70%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 38,207
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 20.60%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $73,918
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  -0.40%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 37,160
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 19.40%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $92,394
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.90%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 36,447
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 25.40%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $81,984
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  1.20%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 36,285
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 19.60%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $59,164
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.60%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 27,989
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 20.40%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $103,238
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  1.00%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 27,855
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 19.60%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $107,894
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate: -0.10%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 25,881
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 18.90%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $62,603
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.50%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 23,866
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 25.50%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $92,441
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.90%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 22,941
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 20.30%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $63,012
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  1.10%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 21,197
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 25.10%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $124,264
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  -0.40%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 21,025
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 23.60%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $64,119
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  -0.20%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 20,930
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 24.20%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $73,549
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  -0.20%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 20,661
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 22.10%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $81,141
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate: -0.10% 

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 20,350
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 21.00%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $64,657
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.60%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 20,156
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 21.50%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $78,277
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:   0.40%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 19,969
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 21.30%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $98,655
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  -0.30%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 19,771
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 22.40%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $68,904
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  1.20%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 19,270
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 22.60%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $82,646
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.70%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 17,883
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 19.80%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $71,799
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  -0.60%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 17,525
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 17.80%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $73,454
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.00%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 17,392
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 21.20%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $103,018
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  -0.10%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 17,175
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 23.10%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $93,228
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.30%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 17,041
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 18.30%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $62,602
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.00%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 16,415
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 19.00%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $69,931
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.50%

• Population aged 65 and over in labor force (2022): 15,957
• Percent of population aged 65 and over still working (2022): 23.30%
• Mean income of households aged 65 and over with earnings (2022): $72,701
• 2020 to 2022 change in labor participation rate:  0.40%

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed major cities to find how many adults are working past retirement age. Retirement age is considered 65 for this study. The top 500 cities by population were sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey. For each city, a number of factors were found, including: total population of all ages, total population for ages 65 and over, mean household income for residents aged 65 and over with earnings, labor force participation rate for residents aged 65 and over, and unemployment rate for residents aged 65 and over, all sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey S0103. The labor force participation rate, unemployment rate and population aged 65 and over were used to calculate the total number of residents aged 65 and over who are in the labor force, total number of residents aged 65 and over who are unemployed, and the percent of the population who are aged 65 or over. The top 100 major cities with all data available were kept for this study. The cities were sorted by the most adults aged 65 and over still participating in the labor force. All data was collected on and is up to date as of May 9, 2024.