DOVER, Del. -- Amid work on a new land use plan, Kent County projects its population will skew older as more retirees arrive and existing residents get older.
The projections, seen on the county's website as part of its storyboards of the county's Comprehensive Development Plan, show figures that suggest the number of people who are 55-years-old or older---already estimated at roughly 50,000 people---could grow by thousands in the coming years and decades. The county has more than 170,000 people, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Phil McGinnis with the Kent County Association of Realtors said there are some obvious reasons why people would want to retire there.
"We have no sales tax, we have low property taxes. The state's Medicaid and Medicare programs are very generous. There are a lot of programs for people in the upper age brackets," he said.
McGinnis suggested development may become more focused on walkable, compact communities near places like Dover and Smyrna, rather than areas with larger homes.
"We're gonna have to have grocery stores and necessity type things closer to the residential development," he said.
Another group that's expected to see growth is children and teenagers, though McGinnis said it was unclear if jobs would be available to keep them in the state. The county's storyboard on population said groups like young professionals are not expected to see as much growth in the area.
