Thirty-five is the minimum age requirement for the U.S. presidency, but there’s no upward limit. The two last presidential elections, which brought Joe Biden, now 82, and Donald Trump, at 78, to the White House, are proof of this political reality.
The Founding Fathers excluded a maximum age limit from the Constitution, giving those in their golden years the ability to run for the highest office in the land.
According to Pew Research, 19 inaugurations have involved presidents in their 60s and just four have involved presidents in their 70s. The median age for U.S. presidents on their first day in office is 55.
The 2024 election cycle again brought discussion about how old is too old for office, which accelerated after Mr. Biden’s on-air debate fumbles in June 2024. The political firestorm led to his his decision to step aside as the Democratic nominee a few weeks later. Critics have also raised concern about Mr. Trump’s age and competency.
Here’s a look at the history of the oldest presidents — in the Oval Office and beyond:
Who were the oldest U.S. presidents at election and in office?
Presidents Trump and Biden are the two oldest presidents ever to be sworn in. When Mr. Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2025, he eclipsed Biden by a few months to take the record. Both were inaugurated at age 78, but Mr. Trump was about 5 months older.
The third oldest president at his inauguration was Ronald Reagan, who was 69 when he was sworn in in 1981. “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,” Reagan famously said in 1984 while running for reelection against Walter Mondale.
In fourth place is the nation’s ninth president, William Henry Harrison. Harrison was elected in 1841 at age 68, but his tenure as president was short-lived. He died 32 days into his first term, making his presidency the shortest in U.S. history.
Who are the oldest living U.S. presidents?
The oldest living president is Biden, who turned 82 on Nov. 20, 2024, just weeks after the election. Mr. Trump and two former presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, all 78 years old, roughly tied for second.
Who was the longest-living president?
Jimmy Carter who died at the age of 100 in December 2024, was the oldest living former U.S. president in history. Carter, a Democrat from Georgia, served one term, from 1977 to 1981. He broke the longevity milestone in 2019, at 94 years old, surpassing George H.W. Bush to become the longest-living president.
More than 1,000 people recently paid tribute to the former president at a benefit concert ahead of his centennial. He celebrated his 100th birthday on Oct. 1, 2024, more than a year after it was announced he had entered hospice care.
After he left office more than 40 years ago, Carter kept busy building more than 4,000 homes for Habitat for Humanity, traveled the world to promote human rights and won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Full list of U.S. presidents, from oldest to youngest at end of presidency
The list ranges from Biden, at 82, down to John F. Kennedy, who was just 46 when he was assassinated. Mr. Trump will also be 82 at the end of his second term in 2029.
- Joe Biden, turned 82 on Nov. 20, 2024
- Ronald Reagan, 77
- Donald Trump, 74 at end of first term
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 70
- Andrew Jackson, 69
- James Buchanan, 69
- William Henry Harrison, 68
- Harry S. Truman, 68
- George H. W. Bush, 68
- James Monroe, 66
- George Washington, 65
- John Adams, 65
- Thomas Jefferson, 65
- James Madison, 65
- Zachary Taylor, 65
- Woodrow Wilson, 64
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 63
- Gerald Ford, 63
- George W. Bush, 62
- John Quincy Adams, 61
- Richard Nixon, 61
- Andrew Johnson, 60
- Lyndon B. Johnson, 60
- Benjamin Harrison, 59
- Grover Cleveland, 59
- Martin Van Buren, 58
- Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 58
- William McKinley, 58
- Herbert Hoover, 58
- Warren G. Harding, 57
- Abraham Lincoln, 56
- Calvin Coolidge, 56
- Jimmy Carter, 56
- Chester A. Arthur, 55
- William Howard Taft, 55
- Barack Obama, 55
- John Tyler, 54
- Ulysses S. Grant, 54
- Bill Clinton, 54
- James Knox Polk, 53
- Millard Fillmore, 53
- Franklin Pierce, 52
- Grover Cleveland, 51
- Theodore Roosevelt, 50
- James A. Garfield, 49
- John F. Kennedy, 46
