The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and AARP collaborated on Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 – an update to the organizations’ research report series conducted roughly every five years.

The 2020 update reveals an increase in the number of family caregivers in the United States of 9.5 million from 2015 to 2020. Family caregivers now encompass more than one in five Americans. The study also reveals that family caregivers are in worse health compared to five years ago. As the demand for caregiving rises with an aging population, there is an opportunity for the public and private sectors to work together to develop solutions to support family caregivers and those under their care.

According to the report, six in 10 caregivers are women (61 percent), and the caregivers’ average age is 49.4 years old. Six in 10 are non-Hispanic White (61 percent), 17 percent are Latinx/Hispanic, and 14 percent are non-Hispanic African American or Black. One in 10 is a student enrolled in college or other classes (11 percent), while 9 percent have served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. Eight percent self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBTQ).

The report webpage also features an infographic and fact sheets on different populations of caregivers broken out by race, age, LGBTQ status and more.