Door County has the second largest number of people over the age of 65 in Wisconsin, and that number is growing. Nearly one in three county residents is 65 or older, and by 2030, almost half of the county’s population will be at least 60 years old.
There were 12,622 residents 60 years and older, and 9,871 residents 65 years old or older, in Door County in 2024. They account for 41.5 percent and 32.4 percent of the total population respectively, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The percentage of adults 60 and older is projected to increase to 45 percent by 2030, according to DHS.
Additional data shows over half of the older adults in Door County are well-educated, married and homeowners. Almost a quarter of those over 65 have a disability. Over a quarter live alone, and older women are more likely to live in poverty than older men.
Behind the numbers, there are thousands of individual stories.
Door County Knock will examine what it means for Door County to have one of Wisconsin’s largest populations of people aged 65 and older, how that demographic is changing, and what those changes mean for residents, families, employers, healthcare providers, local governments and community organizations.
By looking at data and trends, speaking to officials who manage the organizations and agencies serving an older adult population, and most importantly, older adults themselves, Knock will investigate the issues and opportunities for Door County as it ages.
Terminology
Most available demographic data is reported for people aged 65 and older, so Door County Knock will use that age group throughout this series, unless a particular study or dataset uses a different definition. For example, the projection of population growth referenced in this story, uses 60 years old and older as its age range.
Then there is the vocabulary, the words used to identify a member of the 65 and older demographic. Seniors, elders, retirees, golden agers, elderly, geriatric, older adults–there are many terms, and depending on who you talk to, they have a strong preference for one or another. Or none of the above.
A big part of the hesitancy around what to call people as they grow older is rooted in ageism that permeates our culture, according to Paula Span, a veteran journalist and New York Times columnist who writes about aging.
Paul Salm, an educator in human development and relationships for the UW-Madison Division of Extension in Door County, said he agrees that ageism affects terminology, and often is internalized. People see their age as a limiting factor, according to Salm.
“Some of those terms imply what we would consider ageism, and that’s something that is so internalized that people identify with it,” he said. “It’s a very turbulent concept, aging, and I think that’s probably why you’re getting that pushback when it comes to every single term that we’re using, because I think it means something completely different to everybody that’s experiencing aging.”
For the purposes of Knock’s series, the term “older adults” will be used generally, but Salm advised asking each individual what words they would prefer to define themselves.
“The best thing you can do is ask when it comes to any population—minority, gender, sexual identity…what can I call you?” he said.
Jennifer Fitzgerald and Nicki Scharrig, executive director and assistant director of the Aging and Disability Resource Center in Door County, have a different take on how to refer to the older adults who interact with their agency.
“They are an individual that is coming to get resources, and it’s not about age,” Scharrig said. “We’re here to help them. They are participants, or consumers. We don’t really want to be labeling them, so we keep age out of it.”
Examples of systems impacted
As reported in the first story in this series, the Door County workforce is one area impacted by an aging population, as more older adults are working past traditional retirement age. Additionally, more demands are placed on the county’s workforce as the number of older adults who need care grows, whether in their own home or an assisted living or skilled nursing facility.
Emergency services is one system feeling the pressure of an older population, as falls are one of the number one reasons EMS is called, according to a report to the county board by Door County EMS Director Aaron LeClair in October 2025. The most frequent reason for these calls is weakness, and many times they are repeat falls, he said.
Out of 421 calls for a repeat fall due to weakness in 2024, only 121 resulted in transport to the hospital. The remainder are generally cases where no further treatment was necessary. Additionally, a large majority of EMS calls are for people ages 65 to 90 years old, according to the report.
Another system impacted by a growing older adult population is Adult Protective Services. The APS division of Health and Human Services added two new staff members recently to handle what HHS Director Joe Krebsbach said is a projected 90 percent increase in caseloads.
Opportunities
Door County is uniquely poised to take advantage of the opportunities a large older adult population brings to a community, Salm said. For example, the recent Community Health Assessment issued by the Door County Public Health Department listed isolation and housing as some of the biggest challenges faced by the county.
According to Salm, “that demographic is a group that really can help us address a lot of the structural issues that come up during things like our community health assessment. Not only do they have the wisdom, intelligence and experience, but many of them also have the time to put in and help us address these things.”
The wisdom and life experience of an older population is valuable in many sectors and is the impetus behind Do Good Door County’s new initiative, according to Executive Director Cynthia Germain. The initiative is called M Squared, and it is a mentoring program that will allow retired and older adult professionals to mentor individuals who are starting a small business or need help with their current business. Do Good is working with the Door County Economic Development Corporation on the program, she said.
The lived experience and wisdom of older adults extends to all sectors, including emergency services, according to Aaron LeClair, Door County’s EMS director. The county’s 74 emergency services employees range in age from 19 to 88, he said, and that age range is valuable.
“These senior people are such a resource and plethora of knowledge about not just the job, but frankly, life,” LeClair said.
LeClair shared he has personally learned from older EMS professionals. On his first “pulseless not breathing” call, the patient did not survive despite efforts.
“I viewed it as a failure,” he said, “but it was one of these senior (EMS) guys that helped me with perspective. I would have drove myself nuts if it wasn’t for them and their experiences.”
Challenges
While older adults have much to offer the community, there are challenges for serving an ever-growing older population, according to community leaders.
One of the biggest challenges is for those who want to stay in their home, or age in place, according to Fitzgerald and Scharrig at the ADRC.
There are not enough workers in the caregiving realm, Scharrig said, and that includes everything from helping with errands and chores, to personal care and skilled nursing.
Home care is vital but also very difficult to establish here, Salm agreed, especially the farther north you go on the peninsula. Home caregivers are more plentiful in a populous place like
Sturgeon Bay, but “sending someone an hour up is an awkward business model,” he said.
Lack of affordable housing for care workers is an issue that overlaps with caregiving needs, as are low wages and childcare costs, according to ADRC officials and Salm.
Isolation is another challenge for older adults, especially in the long winter months, she added.
“Families visit more in summer than in February. Our winters are long and harsh,” she said.
Many older adults struggle to get reliable transportation to be able to go somewhere, especially in the winter months, Scharrig said, and then there is the issue of financial stability.
“There’s this misconception in Door County that everyone is rich,” she said. “Many older adults are living on very little money.”
Solutions
During his UW-Extension classes, Salm sometimes performs an exercise related to social connection with participants, he said, many of whom are older adults.
He asks everybody to create a web of relationships and identify what they have and what they are missing, and then understand that you have an obligation to give to others if you have everything you need, he said.
Salm said he thinks Door County is uniquely suited for volunteering and neighbors helping neighbors.
Between the ADRC, UW-Extension, the Door County Aging Coalition, Do Good Door County, Door County Medical Center’s Senior Life Solutions program and many more, Door County already has a lot of resources for a growing older adult population.
Neighbors helping neighbors is a big part of those resources, according to Fitzgerald and Scharrig. The ADRC had 161 unique volunteers and 9,297 volunteer hours in 2025, according to a recent report to the HHS board.
That equates to four and a half full time employees, according to HHS Director Joe Krebsbach. “We couldn’t operate without them,” he said. “Plus, the coordination of that is mind-blowing.”
Fitzgerald and Scharrig shared some stories from ADRC participants at the July HHS board meeting. After his wife died, one man said, he watched the days bleed together, staying home, isolated, for almost a year. A friend finally convinced him to go to a meal at the ADRC site in Sturgeon Bay, he said.
His hands were shaking and he felt foolish as he walked in, but took a seat, ate lunch, talked about the Packers and the weather. Then someone cracked a joke, and he said he found himself laughing for the first time in a year. Now he attends regularly, eating meals and playing cards. He has started going to a grief support group.
“I’m surrounded by people who get it,” he said.
Stories like his are what makes this series about people, not just statistics. Door County Knock will investigate how Door County is changing, and how the community lives through those changes.