Butler County is growing older every year, and its services are trying to keep up
It’s not just a vibe. Numbers show that Butler County’s population is growing older every year.
According to the most recent U.S. Census American Community Survey five-year population estimates, 27.9% of the population of Butler County — or 54,559 residents — are aged 60 years and older; while 20.1% — or 39,327 residents — are 65 and older. The median age of Butler County residents is 43.3 years old.
All of those numbers show substantial increases over 10 years prior, when only 21.8% of the population was 60 and older and 15.7% of the population was 65 and up, with a median age of 42 years old.
The county’s rapid increase in the senior population may appear to be a boon for nursing homes, but leaders from several of the county’s senior living facilities say the surging numbers come with challenges.
“Like many senior living providers across the country, Lutheran SeniorLife has experienced a shortage of Certified Nursing Assistants,” David Fenoglietto, president of Lutheran SeniorLife. “This challenge is driven in large part by the unprecedented demand for care created by the aging baby boomer generation, which is rapidly increasing the need for hands-on support in senior care settings.”
Within Butler County, Lutheran SeniorLife operates the Passavant Community in Zelienople and St. John Community in Mars.
He’s not alone in his experience, as it was echoed by Concordia and St. Barnabas leaders.
“Concordia has seen steady interest growth, especially in Butler County, in all of our service lines over the past few years, most notably skilled nursing, home health care, personal care and independent living,” said Frank Skrip, Concordia’s director of public relations.
Concordia Lutheran Services operates three services in Butler County — Concordia at Cabot in Jefferson Township, Concordia of Cranberry in Adams Ridge and Concordia at the Orchard in Center Township.
“Fulfilling the need of having such a high volume of individuals deciding to retire, and being of interest or of need to relocate from the traditional single-family home to some form of community is a challenge,” Douglas Day, vice president of St. Barnabas Health System said.
St. Barnabas operates two facilities, both in Valencia — The Arbors, an assisted living facility; and The Woodlands, a luxury retirement living community.
Lutheran SeniorLife’s Fenoglietto also reported seeing a noticeable increase in demand for both residential communities and community-based programs.
“As the population of older adults continues to grow, more individuals and families are turning to us,” he said.
Mark Gordon, Butler County’s director of economic development and planning, attributes part of the rise to the county’s many senior living facilities. He also credited Butler County’s lower tax rate, as compared to neighboring Allegheny County, for making it a more attractive destination for retirees.
“The narrative in general is that we promote Butler County as a premier place to live, to work and enjoy, and we do that,” Gordon said. “We welcome everybody.”
However, Butler County isn’t in a vacuum.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 11 states where adults over 65 outnumber children under 18 — Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia. At the start of the decade, only Florida, Maine and Vermont fit that description.
By 2035, due to a declining birthrate and the longevity of the “baby boomer” generation — those born between 1946 and 1964 — it is estimated that older adults will outnumber children across the United States, according to a 2018 study from the Census Bureau.
Trends appear the number of seniors will only go up before they go down, but nursing homes across Pennsylvania have already been struggling to meet the demand since the start of the 2020s.
The need isn’t going away anytime soon, which is why local nursing home leaders say the government must not create further barriers to meeting the need.
According to the nonprofit LeadingAge PA, the state lost 3,000 nursing home beds between 2020 and 2024. About a quarter of all other beds could not be filled due to staffing or funding issues.
The shortage was partially caused by a federal mandate created in 2023, which imposed minimum staffing levels, but the mandate was struck down by a federal judge in April 2025.
“This unrealistic staffing mandate threatened to close nursing homes and displace vulnerable seniors,” Clif Porter, CEO of American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living said in a statement to CNN in April.
Nursing homes in Butler County directly felt the impact.
“Finding qualified staff is a challenge for, quite frankly, everybody in the entire region,” Day said. “Regardless of what business or industry, it's everybody's challenge.”
Fenoglietto said that, for their part, Lutheran SeniorLife is encouraging more prospective nurses and assistants to enter the profession.
“We know there’s a shortage of caregivers everywhere, so we created a free CNA training program to remove barriers and encourage more people to enter the profession,” Fenoglietto said.
The other major obstacle for senior care facilities comes from the health care industry itself, in the form of stagnant insurance reimbursements, which are failing to offset the rising costs of health care.
“There’s been a trend, which is not anything new, that reimbursement for services already provided … those rates continue to be reduced,” Day said. “We make sure to manage the best we can with those reimbursement rates, and then we privately fund the balance that the reimbursement does not cover.”
Day says that St. Barnabas has managed to endure the situation with the help of its Free Care Fund, which provides services for patients who would not otherwise be able to afford them. According to Day, the Free Care Fund raises between $5 million and $7 million per year.
Lutheran SeniorLife has the similar Benevolent Care Fund.
“No one should be asked to leave their home because they’ve outlived their savings,” Fenoglietto said. “That’s why our Benevolent Care Fund is so vital to our mission.”
