Census: Childless older women better off than older men

Older adults who are childless in the US are more like to be college educated, in the workforce at a greater rate and are more readily non-Hispanic white than those with children, and their numbers are growing. Photo: AP/Filepic

Older adults who are childless in the US are more likely to be college educated, working and white than those with children, and their numbers are growing.

About one in six adults age 55 and older are childless, and childless older women appear to be better positioned than men when it comes to health and wealth, according to a first-of-its-kind report released Tuesday by the US Census Bureau.