Occupations With the Oldest Workers

Clerical library assistants is one of 21 occupations in which most people in the workforce are age 50 or older. An estimated 9,000 clerical library assistants are 65 or older, accounting for 13.8% of all workers in this job. Nationwide, 6.6% of all workers are 65 or older.

These workers sort, shelve, issue, and receive items kept at the library, including books, magazines, files, and more. Of the more than 500 occupations considered, clerical library assistants have among the lowest median annual earnings, at $28,730. Most jobs have a median annual pay of over $51,000 per year.

Over half of the 1.04 million Americans working as real estate agents 50 or older. Americans approaching retirement age may be drawn to the occupation for its flexibility. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most real estate agents and brokers are self employed and can set their own hours and schedule.

Real estate professionals typically must complete a course and obtain a license by passing a state issued exam. The typical broker earns $56,368 a year, though that amount can vary considerably.

Millwrights are responsible for installing, setting up, and moving machinery and heavy equipment. Unlike nearly every other occupation on this list, a very small share of millwrights are aged 65 and older — just 1.8%. The median age skews to above 50 in large part because only a small share of millwrights are under 35 years old. More than a third fall into the 45-54year old age bracket.

Despite the low share of young workers, the number of millwrights is projected to increase quickly over the next decade, up a projected 6.9% from 2019 to 2029. The employment growth across all occupations is projected to be 3.7% during that time.

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are typically responsible for recording financial transactions and maintaining and checking financial records for a business or organization. The median age in the occupation is 50.4 years old, about eight years older than the median across the entire U.S workforce.

Like many occupations with an older workforce, bookkeeping and accounting is a dying profession. Due to increased automation and the proliferation of accounting software, the demand for these workers is projected to contract by 5.7% over the next decade.

Most executive secretaries and administrative assistants in the United States are 50 or over — and nearly 13% of the 196,000 Americans working in the field are 65 or older.

Job responsibilities typically include clerical and administrative tasks such as filing, scheduling, document preparation and review, and other support tasks for top executives of an organization. As is the case for many occupations on this list, technology is reducing the need for executive secretaries. Overall employment in the occupation is projected to plummet by 20.4% between 2019 and 2029.

Tax preparers typically prepare income tax filings for clients and ensure compliance with the tax code while making use of appropriate deduction and adjustments. Most of the estimated 96,000 Americans working in the industry are 50 or older, and about 20% are 65 or older

Like many occupations with older work forces, tax preparers often work for only part of the year, during tax season, and many own their own practice, affording them greater flexibility than a more traditional job would.

Postal service clerks sort and receive mail and handle customer interactions at post offices. Workers in this field have a median age of 50.6 years, and more than 40% of postal service clerks are 55 and older.

This career is projected to be one of the fastest declining fields of employment in the country as physical mail becomes less and less common. The number of postal service clerks is projected to decline by 13.5% from 2019 to 2029.

Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs are in one of 14 occupations in which most workers are over 51 years old. Nearly 16% of all such drivers are 65 and older, well more than double the 6.6% share of workers in that age group across all jobs.

Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs have a median annual earnings of $31,512, nearly $20,000 lower than the median across all occupations. Demand for drivers is likely to increase, causing significant employment growth. Over the next decade, the number of such drivers are projected to increase by 11.1% — triple the projected growth across all fields.

Members of the clergy work within a given religious denomination and lead worship and prayer sessions, offer spiritual guidance to their members, and deliver sermons or other talks. A bachelor’s degree is typically required to be in a clergy, though may also have a master’s degree.

The median age of the 420,000 Americans working as religious clergy is 51.9 years, nearly a decade older than the typical American worker. Many common tasks and important skills in the job, such as conflict resolution, offering counsel, and social perceptiveness, are attributes that develop and improve in many individuals over years of life experience.

Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators are one of two jobs that take place at the post office to have among the oldest workforces. These postal workers have a median age of 52 years, nearly a decade higher than the median age across all occupations, which is 42.5 years.

The number of postal service sorters and processors is projected to decline by 17.8% from 2019 to 2029, one of the largest declines of any job. This is due in part to reduced use of physical mail as well as automated systems that can sort mail.

Chief executives work across nearly all industries to ensure that their organization is meeting its goals by implementing policies and strategies. Chief executives typically need many years of experience — including management experience — in their industry, and partially as a result, the typical chief executive in the United States is 52 years old, nearly 10 years older than the typical American worker.

While the role of a chief executive is in no danger of disappearing in the near future, the number of people working in the occupation is projected to decline by 10% over the next decade as companies are likely to become increasingly consolidated with more people working for large, established corporations.

Property appraisers and assessors are employed by governments, real estate agencies, and insurance companies, providing value estimates for tangible property owned by both businesses and individuals.

Becoming property appraiser typically requires at least a bachelor’s degree and long-term on-the-job training. The median age of the 86,000 Americans employed in the occupation is 52.1 years.

Construction and building inspectors is one of 10 occupations with a median age of more than 52 years. Nearly half of all workers in this field are 55 and older, compared to 23.9% of all workers. Also, 19.0% of such inspectors are 65 and older, nearly triple the 6.6% rate across all occupations.

Construction and building inspectors are likely older due in part to the fact that it takes years to gain the skills, knowledge, and experience to qualify for the job. Typically, these workers need five or more years of experience in their field before becoming an inspector.

The median age of travel agents is 53 years, one of the highest median ages across all occupations. Of the estimated 51,000 travel agents across the nation, 31,000 are between the ages of 45 and 64.

Travel agents are in one of four occupations with a projected employment decline of more than 25% from 2019 to 2029. With an abundance of flight, hotel, and travel websites, there will be a much smaller demand for travel agents.

Stationary engineers and boiler operators are employed by manufacturing firms, schools, hospitals, and state and local governments. Their jobs typically entail maintaining and operating HVAC equipment in large buildings and facilities.

Many manual labor occupations are struggling to bring in new, younger workers, and stationary engineering and boiler operation appears to be one of them. The median age among Americans in the occupation is 53.5, 11 years older than the median age among all workers. The job does not require a formal education beyond high school and has a median annual wage of $64,680 — far more than the median across all occupations of $51,168.

Legal secretaries and administrative assistants have a higher median age, at 53.5 years, than all but five other professions. Of the estimated 54,000 Americans in this occupation, 39,000 are 45 and older.

Like many of the other jobs on this list, some of the tasks performed by legal secretaries can now be done using computers and applications. This includes preparing and filing documents, managing phone calls, and more. The number of these workers are projected to decline by more than 22% over the next decade.

The typical American working as a tailor, dressmaker, or sewer is 53.6 years old — about 11 years older than the typical worker across all occupations — and over 17% of those in the occupation, about 11,000 people, are 65 or older.

As is the case with many occupations with older workforces, employment opportunities for tailors, dressmakers, and sewers are disappearing largely because of technology. Over the next decade, the number of jobs in the field is projected to contract by 4.9%, even as employment across all occupations climbs by 3.7%.

Transit and city bus drivers are in one of three driving jobs to rank among the occupations with the oldest workers. The median age of transit bus drivers is 54.4 years, compared to the 42.5 year median across all workers.

These bus drivers have a median annual earnings of $40,716, more than $10,000 less than the overall median earnings for all occupations. The projected employment growth for this field, however, is well more than double the typical job, at 9.3%.

Judges and other judicial workers are among the oldest workers in America, with a median age of 54.4 years. Nearly a quarter of these workers are 65 and older. This is one of the highest paying fields in the country, with median annual earnings over $96,000.

These workers tend to be much older than is typical largely because of the years of experience needed to qualify as a judge. Judges typically need a law degree and years of working in the legal field to establish themselves before they are appointed or elected to their judgeship.

School bus drivers have the second highest median age of any job in America, at 54.7 years. Only about a quarter of school bus drivers are under age 45. Yet as the number of school children increases, the number of drivers required will increase as well. The projected increase of school bus drivers from 2019 to 2029 is 11.1%, three times as high as the increase across all occupations.

School bus drivers have relatively low median annual earnings, at $33,644 — more than $17,000 lower than the median across all earnings. However, these drivers do not work over the summer when school is out.

Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers are in the occupation with by far the highest median age, at 56.8 years. This is more than two years older than any other job. Nearly a third of all farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers are 65 or older — nearly 300,000 in total.

The median age of farmers and ranchers has steadily increased in recent decades as fewer young people are working in this occupation. However, younger agricultural workers tend to have larger operations, whereas smaller farms are typically operated by older workers. This consolidation of smaller farms into larger operations helps explain why the number of farmers is projected to decline in the next decade.