63 Million Americans Are Unpaid Caregivers—Here’s the Planning Gap Behind That Number

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Aging isn’t a single event. But for a lot of families, planning still gets treated like it is—as if the only thing worth preparing for is one big moment, rather than the years of quiet adjustment that usually come first.

For most caregivers, it didn’t start with a diagnosis or a formal care plan. It started with small things: a daughter picking up groceries, a spouse taking over the bills, and a son driving his father to appointments. None of it looked like a “care event” at the time. All of it became part of everyday life.

What the Data Shows

According to AARP’s Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 report, nearly one in four American adults — roughly 63 million people — are currently providing ongoing, unpaid care to a family member or loved one. That’s 20 million more caregivers than in 2015, a striking jump in just a decade.

That last figure comes from AARP’s Valuing the Invaluable 2026 report, which found the economic value of unpaid family caregiving topped $1 trillion in 2024—more than the country spends on Medicaid-funded long-term services combined. If unpaid caregiving were counted as a labor sector, it would rank among the largest workforces in the country.

The Human Cost Behind the Numbers

Genworth’s Beyond Dollars research adds a dimension the financial figures alone don’t capture: reduced work hours, strained relationships, and real health consequences for the caregivers themselves. Caregiving rarely affects just one person in a family—it tends to ripple outward.

Where the Planning Gap Sits

Health insurance, life insurance, and long-term care insurance each continue to do exactly what they’re designed to do. None of them, though, is built around the gradual, quiet transition AARP’s data describes—the years of small adjustments that come long before any formal care event is officially recognized.

What Families Can Do With This

If you’re already one of the 63 million — picking up groceries, managing medications, or coordinating appointments for a parent or spouse, this data is really just confirmation of something you already know: the support side of aging often starts long before anyone calls it “care.” Planning for it earlier, through resources like a nationwide, non-medical home care membership from True Freedom Home Care, won’t undo the caregiving already happening, but it can change how much of that load falls on one person going forward and give the family more options for how support is arranged.

Am I already a caregiver even if I don’t think of myself that way?

Possibly. AARP’s research counts anyone providing ongoing, unpaid help with things like errands, finances, transportation, or household tasks for a family member as a caregiver—not just those providing hands-on medical care.

How can a home care membership reduce the load on family caregivers?

It provides access to a bank of non-medical home care hours that can supplement or take over specific tasks—meal prep, errands, companionship, appointment transportation—so the load doesn’t fall entirely on one family member.

Is this data specific to any one state or region?

No. The figures come from AARP’s national Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 and Valuing the Invaluable 2026 reports and reflect the U.S. as a whole; caregiving prevalence and costs do vary somewhat by state.

Sources: AARP & National Alliance for Caregiving — Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 · AARP Public Policy Institute—Valuing the Invaluable 2026 · Genworth — Beyond Dollars