The Older Population 2010: The U.S. population 65 and older is now the largest in terms of size and percent of the population, compared with any previous census, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau brief. According to the 2010 Census, there were 40 million people 65 and older in 2010, increasing by roughly 5 million since the 2000 Census when this population numbered 35 million. In 2010, the older population represented 13 percent of the total population, an increase from about 12 percent in 2000.