Jefferson County has twice the state average of people 65 and older.
And it has 50 percent more folks 85 and older than the state average.
And they live longer than the average person elsewhere in Washington.
Results from a $75,000 study to diagnose Jefferson County’s health needs calculated these age breakdowns and more.
The project, funded by Jefferson County Health and Human Services, was presented as a 125-page report at a community workshop this week.
Board of Health members initiated the study to provide a guide for policymakers.
Age composition varies among communities, with Port Townsend, Port Ludlow and Marrowstone Island showing the largest percentages of elderly.
Most dramatically, the data show how the county’s average age has shifted upward.
The most elderly, as a whole, live in Port Townsend.
With a life expectancy of 79.9 years, people in Jefferson County live 2.2 years longer on average than those in the rest of the state.
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The rest of the story appears in the Thursday Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
