By any measure, the nation’s family caregiving industry is massive–estimated at $1.1 trillion annually–and growing far beyond the capacity of frontline workers.
Often cast as the “invisible infrastructure” of the nation’s burgeoning health care industry, the number of home caregivers has rocketed to 63 million, up from 43 million in 2015, representing one in four American adults, most of them unpaid and unskilled family members struggling to meet the moment.
“The demand is set to keep rising,” National Alliance for Caregiving President and CEO Jason Resendez told the National Press Foundation’s Local Business Journalism Fellowship class. “Americans are living longer than ever, but not healthier. More years of life are being spent with chronic illness, cognitive decline, and disability. As the baby boomer generation moves deeper into their 70s and 80s, family caregivers are the ones filling the widening gap between how people live and how long they can live independently by themselves.”
With the cost of professional care out of reach of the most needy, Resendez said the burden has fallen to family members who have taken on the emotional and physical responsibilities while depleting their savings to provide for loved ones.
An estimated 61% of caregivers worked other jobs to balance the cost of care at home.
“Women continue to shoulder the bulk of our nation’s caregiving responsibilities,” Resendez said. “That’s a consistent trend that we’ve seen over the years, but 38% are men. It’s nearly 25 million men providing care alongside women across the country — and an overlooked segment of the population that we often don’t talk about in policy and in cultural narratives around caregiving.”
Resendez said nearly 30% of caregivers represent the so-called ‘Sandwich Generation,’ tending both an adult with a serious illness, chronic condition or disability while also providing care for a child.
“This was my introduction to caregiving,” Resendez said. “I grew up with a mom raising three kids while working a full-time job and caring for my grandmother who battled multiple chronic conditions,” he said.
“And because of that, her dream of finishing college and becoming a certified public accountant took a backseat to her caregiving responsibilities, which had long-term effects for her financial security and for the opportunities that we had as a family. So that sandwich story is a really critical one that we’re seeing more and more in the caregiving world.”
Access the full transcript here.
This fellowship is sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a continuation of a journalism training and award program launched in 2025. NPF is solely responsible for the content.
