Two recent reports on family caregivers reflect the scale and nature of caregiving activities. In terms of the number of people caring for adult family members, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Coalition for Caregiving (NAC) put the number at 38 million and 59 million, respectively. That's a wide range, but the main reason for the difference is simply that the BLS only includes unpaid family caregivers for older Americans, while the NAC's numbers include all family caregivers (unpaid and paid) for adults of all ages.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics results
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 14% of Americans over the age of 15 provided some form of unpaid care to someone over the age of 65 in 2023 and 2024. Not surprisingly, the likelihood of providing care increases with age until the caregivers themselves approach retirement. And patterns also vary by age. For example, young adult caregivers are more likely to care for grandparents; middle-aged caregivers of parents; and oldest caregivers of spouses. On average, caregivers over the age of 55 spend more time caring than younger caregivers: 1-2 hours per day compared with less than 1 hour per day.
National Advisory Committee Results
NAC, with support from AARP, conducts a survey of caregivers every five years. Its Caregiving in America 2025 found that 59 million Americans provide care for another adult family member, an increase of more than 40% from a decade ago.
About 11 million of those home caregivers are paid; under Medicaid, home and community-based services can be paid for, which vary by state. Notably, the vast majority of these paid caregivers also reported providing some unpaid care.
Four in 10 caregivers live with the person they care for, and about one in five caregivers provide 21 or more hours of care per week. One-third of home caregivers also received paid assistance. this period Length of care varied widely, with a quarter lasting less than half a year and 15% lasting 10 years or more (see Figure 1).
The NAC survey had some other interesting findings, suggesting that our society appears to be adapting to new technologies and an aging population.
For example, the number of home caregivers using some form of remote monitoring device increased from 13% in 2020 to 25% in 2025. Employers are offering more benefits than previous surveys reported, including paid sick leave, paid and unpaid family leave, flexible hours, remote work and other programs to help caregivers.
But balancing work and caregiving remains difficult, with 56% of employed family caregivers saying they have had to arrive late, leave early or take time off due to caregiving responsibilities; 18% have reduced their hours; and 16% have taken time off.
The bottom line is that family care is at the heart of aged care, and the more support family carers receive, the less pressure there is on other parts of the aged care system.
For more information about Harry Margolis, check out his Adventures in Aging in America blog and podcast. He also answers consumer estate planning questions on AskHarry.info. To stay up to date on the Squared Away blog, join our free email list.
