The population of Korea is ageing as the number of elderly people increases due to improvements in health care and diet. Accordingly, it is expected that interest in how to live actively during the years after retirement and how to communicate effectively will increase the demand for voice improvement methods and technology. However, the criteria to evaluate the voice strength and characteristics of the elderly are lacking. In this study, we analyzed the acoustic characteristics of elderly women living in the community according to residential status and mental health status (e.g. depressive mood). Accordingly, we selected women (n=63) above the age of 65 age who were living in the Seoul metropolitan area and Daegu Gyeongbuk. The selected subjects were divided into two groups: a normal speaker group (n=40) and a speaker group comprised of those suffering from depressive mood (n=23). This study analyzed the voice characteristics of subjects based on collected data through the sustained phonation of the vowel /a/. It was shown that there were differences among MPT, F0, Jitter, Shimmer and NHR depending on location of residence but no difference with regard to depressive mood. Therefore, we must consider location of residence in elderly as the key factor in demonstrating the voice norms of seniors.