Designing for the Life Span Segment 2
Designing for the Life Span Segment 2 
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[D]
A Legacy of the Agrarian Society...movement of younger generations from the farms of the Midwest left older Americans in rural counties. The red colored areas show the counties with the highest proportion of people over the age of 85. Smith County, Kansas has the highest percentage of any county- 5.2% of the total population. Los Angeles County, California has the greatest concentration by number of residents, 1% or over 85,000 in a population of nearly 9 million.
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When the same population distribution is viewed by county rather than by state, the centricity of the population - in this case over 85 years of age - is dramatic. The redder or "hotter" the color, the greater the proportion of older Americans of the old-old age segment residing in that county.
Rural elderly define so-called "home-range" by how far they drive their automobiles. They are not linked to specific towns unless they reside within a town.
Notable exceptions to the alignment of older adults with middle America are the counties around St. Petersburg, Florida and Los Angeles County that has the greatest concentration of residents over 85 of any county in America.
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