Alzheimer’s RISES for 25th year in a row across US…how many people in your town have the disease?

Rates of Alzheimer’s have risen for the 25th consecutive year, new data shows.

A new report from the Alzheimer’s Association said that 7.2 million Americans 65 and older had Alzheimer’s in 2025, up from 6.9 million in 2024 and 6.7 million in 2023.

It means there was a nearly five percent rise in cases in 2025 (reaching one in nine people aged 65 and older) compared to 2024. This reflects an accelerating trend, as the increase from 2023 to 2024 was roughly three percent (6.7M → 6.9M).

The AA said America’s aging population PARTLY explains the higher rates, given that seniors are most likely to develop the memory-robbing neurodegenerative disease.

But rates of chronic health conditions that compound the risk of developing dementias, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke, are also rising in the US. 

Eastern and southeastern states had the highest disease rates, with Washington, DC leading the list at nearly 17 percent of seniors 65 and older having the disease, followed by Maryland and then New York with almost 13 percent, and Florida at 12.5 percent.

The states with the lowest disease prevalence were predominantly in the West, including Alaska at 8.8 percent, Montana and Idaho at 9.8 percent each, and Wyoming and Vermont, each at 9.9 percent.

‘Although these estimates did not incorporate information related to health-related behaviors or health conditions, it is notable that the Southeast is the region with the highest prevalence of conditions such as hypertension, stroke, and diabetes that raise the risk of dementia,’ the researchers behind the report said.

People with these conditions are more likely to have higher amounts of toxic clumps of protein and tangled webs of harmful proteins in their brains that are considered hallmark causes of the disease. 

Additionally, stroke survivors are 80 percent more likely to develop dementia due to damage to blood vessels in the brain.

An ever-growing aged population is the leading cause of rising rates of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.

The number of Americans in their 80s, 90s, and beyond is expected to grow dramatically due to population aging. This will lead to an increase in the number and percentage of Americans 85 and older.

This age group is expected to comprise 11 percent of the population age 65 and older in 2025, rising to 21 percent of the population age 65 and older in 2050.

This will result in an additional 10 million people age 85 and older — individuals at the highest risk for developing Alzheimer’s dementia.

The number of adults 65 and older expected to have Alzheimer’s by 2050 is expected to rise 76 percent to 12.7 million.

Older adults are typically prone to the condition. In 2025, about 2.5 million people of those 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s dementia are expected to be age 85 or older.

But by 2060, 6.7 million people age 85 and older are expected to have Alzheimer’s dementia, accounting for about half (48 percent) of all people 65 and older with Alzheimer’s dementia.

Southeastern states like Mississippi (12.5 percent), Alabama (11.8 percent), and South Carolina (11.5 percent) have some of the highest prevalence rates in 2025, according to the Alzheimer’s Association report. 

This is due in part to a higher number of seniors retiring to this area, especially in Florida.

Eastern and Mid-Atlantic states, including New York (12.7 percent), Maryland (12.9 percent), and Florida (12.5 percent), also show elevated rates.

Accurately tracking Alzheimer’s-related deaths is challenging due to limitations in how causes of death are documented.

The CDC reports that 120,122 deaths in 2022 were attributed to Alzheimer’s, but this only includes cases where the disease was listed as the underlying cause of death, meaning it directly triggered the chain of events leading to mortality.

Many cases likely go uncounted when Alzheimer’s contributes to, but isn’t recorded as, the primary cause.

Alzheimer’s progresses through distinct stages, beginning long before symptoms appear. In the earliest phase, some people carry rare genes that almost certainly lead to the disease, but these account for less than one percent of cases.

As the disease progresses to the next stage, harmful amyloid proteins accumulate in the brain, though the person still acts and functions normally. 

The next phase is when people begin to experience cognitive decline, causing subtle decreases in performance on cognitive tests and exhibiting trouble managing finances.

Then, the person will experience the dementia state, in which they need help performing basic tasks like cooking or paying bills, though they can generally still care for themselves. 

But the disease progresses to affecting basic tasks like getting dressed, and is accompanied by personality and mood changes.

In the final stages, full-time care becomes crucial, as communication and mobility decline significantly, often leading patients to be bedbound.

This continuum from invisible brain changes to severe disability unfolds differently for each person, influenced by age, genetics, and other factors.