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About 59 million Americans provided care for an adult family member, neighbor or friend in 2024, according to a new report from the AARP Public Policy Institute.
Their efforts added up to 49.5 billion hours of care, representing $1.01 trillion in total economic value annually, the report estimates. The Public Policy Institute is the policy research arm for the AARP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization representing individuals ages 50 and older.
Family caregivers usually provide long-term services and supports, nearly all of which are unpaid, the research found. The average hourly value for that work was $20.41 in 2024.
Their labor includes essential care for adults like managing medications, coordinating care appointments and assisting with other needs like bathing, dressing and navigating insurance claims, Myechia Minter-Jordan, CEO of AARP, said during a press briefing on the research.
“Many are doing all of this while working, while raising children and trying to stay afloat, both financially and emotionally,” Minter-Jordan said.
The $1.01 trillion economic value of family caregiving exceeded the $932 billion total in federal, state and local Medicaid spending and $557 billion total in out-of-pocket health spending, according to AARP.
This is the seventh report AARP has done on caregiving costs. Its first report estimated that the economic value of caregiving in 2006 was $350 billion, with an average hourly value of $9.63.
“Behind every data point in our report is a person, a daughter, a husband, a grandchild, a neighbor,” Nancy LeaMond, chief advocacy and engagement officer at AARP, said during the press briefing. “They deserve some financial relief.”
How policy changes may help defray costs
In the recent presidential election, both Democratic and Republican nominees said they were in favor of financial support for family caregivers, LeaMond said.
The AARP is hopeful lawmakers and candidates who aspire to take office will address the issue ahead of the midterm elections, she said.
In some states, there has been progress. In 2026, 12 states have considered legislation to provide caregiver tax credits, according to the AARP.
In 2023, Oklahoma became the first state to provide a caregiver tax credit, followed by Nebraska in 2024.
The AARP is also advocating for federal legislative proposals that may help defray families’ caregiving costs. The bipartisan Credit for Caring Act calls for a $5,000 tax credit for families to offset caregiving expenses. Meanwhile, the Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act, another bipartisan effort, would let caregivers use their health savings or flexible spending accounts for qualified medical expenses on behalf of parents or parents-in-law.
Both bills have been with the House Ways and Means Committee since early 2025.
‘It’s almost like an epidemic’
AARP’s new $1 trillion figure for the economic value of family caregiving is likely an underestimate, said Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and certified financial planner who is also the founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida.
“The amount of personal caregiving that happens, it’s almost like an epidemic,” said McClanahan, who is a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.
Families can partially plan for the event that a loved one may someday need care, McClanahan said, but you don’t ever know who’s really going to need that attention. While the majority of people do need caregiving at some point, some may die before they ever need care, she said.
When clients reach their late 50s or early 60s, McClanahan said she usually has a discussion with them to start planning for how they will get care if they need it.
“The thing for families to do is to talk about the possibility in advance,” McClanahan said, including planning who will provide the care and how they will be compensated.