In the 1940s large numbers of retirees began to move to Florida.  Before 1940 Florida had a smaller percentage of people 65 years and older in its population than the nation as a whole.  Until 1940 older males outnumbered older females in the state as a result of the nineteenth-century migration to Florida of more young males than females.  After World War II most newcomers 65 years of age and older arrived as couples, and because woman generally outlived men, aged women now far outnumber aged men in Florida.
    In 1940 most of the aged lived in three regions--the GoldÊCoast, North Florida, and Tampa-St. Petersburg.  Most of North Florida's aged, unlike those elsewhere in Florida, were born within the region.  Between 1940 and 1980 the share of the state's aged living in North Florida and in the Peninsular Interior declined, whereas it increased dramatically on the Gold Coast.  The Tampa-St. Petersburg region and the Peninsular Interior have had declining shares of the state's aged since at least 1960.  The share of the state's aged living on the Gold Coast has declined since 1980, while it has increased on the SpaceÊCoast and SunÊCoasts.  The aged today constitute almost one-third of the populations of several counties along the Gulf of Mexico.