Pulse brief · 2 cited sources · July 26, 2026
AARP puts 2024 family caregiving above $1 trillion in imputed value
59 million caregivers, 49.5 billion hours, and an average hourly value that rose to $20.41 — an accounting of unpaid work, not a payment to anyone.
AARP's Public Policy Institute put the 2024 economic value of family caregiving above $1 trillion in its Valuing the Invaluable 2026 update, counting 59 million U.S. family caregivers of adults who provided 49.5 billion hours of care — work equal to 23.8 million full-time workers, or about 17 percent of the nation's full-time workers. The first report in the series estimated $350 billion in unpaid care in 2006. Part of the increase is price: the average value of one caregiving hour rose from $16.59 to $20.41 in 2024, reflecting higher home care costs, direct care wages and minimum wage hikes, with state-level hourly figures ranging from $14.12 in Louisiana to $27.05 in Washington. Rita B. Choula, senior director of caregiving at the institute, says relying on families to juggle the responsibility alone is unsustainable. CDC cites a 2021 study in which the average annual out-of-pocket cost for caregivers was $7,200, rising to nearly $9,000 per year for caregivers of someone with dementia.
Evidence
Each statement shown below is a verified claim this source supports.
- AARP's Public Policy Institute counted 59 million U.S. family caregivers of adults who provided 49.5 billion hours of care, with economic value exceeding $1 trillion in 2024.
- The AARP figure is an estimated economic value of unpaid family care rather than government spending or money received by caregiving households.
- The average value of one caregiving hour rose from $16.59 to $20.41 in 2024, reflecting higher home care costs, direct care wages and minimum wage hikes.
- The estimate comes from AARP's Valuing the Invaluable 2026 update, part of a series issued every two to four years.
- The 49.5 billion hours equal work done by 23.8 million full-time workers, or about 17 percent of the nation's full-time workers.
- The first report in the series estimated $350 billion in unpaid care in 2006.
- State-level hourly figures range from $14.12 in Louisiana to $27.05 in Washington.
- Rita B. Choula, senior director of caregiving at the AARP Public Policy Institute, says relying on families to juggle the responsibility alone is unsustainable.
- CDC cites a 2021 study in which the average annual out-of-pocket cost for caregivers was $7,200, rising to nearly $9,000 per year for caregivers of someone with dementia.