63 million
U.S. adults were family caregivers in 2025.
That is about one in four adults providing ongoing care for an adult or child with a medical condition or disability.
Source: Caregiving in the U.S. 2025, July 24, 2025← Resources
U.S. reference page
Family caregiving and advance planning statistics
Current national figures on the people who provide care, the time they give and the planning documents adults have in place. Every number below includes its source and reporting date.
Last updated October 23, 2026
A clear picture, gathered in one place.
Caregiving and planning can be deeply personal, but reliable national data helps explain the practical realities families are navigating. This page brings together the most useful recent figures from a major caregiver study and a large U.S. review of advance-directive completion.
The figures describe national research, not a prediction for any individual or family. Legal and healthcare documents have different names and requirements in each state. For personal decisions, speak with the qualified professionals who can advise on your circumstances.
Family caregiving in 2025
Care is a major part of everyday life for millions of families.
These figures come from Caregiving in the U.S. 2025, published by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving on July 24, 2025.
59 million
family caregivers were caring for an adult.
The 2025 study separates this group from caregivers supporting children under 18 with a medical condition or disability.
Source: Caregiving in the U.S. 2025, July 24, 2025Nearly 1 in 4
caregivers reported providing 40 or more hours of care each week.
The figure reflects the intensity of support many families are managing alongside everyday responsibilities.
Source: Caregiving in the U.S. 2025, July 24, 20251 in 3
caregivers had been providing care for five years or more.
Planning information can need to remain findable and useful over a long period, not only during one moment of change.
Source: Caregiving in the U.S. 2025, July 24, 20256 in 10
family caregivers were employed while caregiving.
Among employed caregivers, half reported work disruptions such as arriving late or leaving early to provide care.
Source: Caregiving in the U.S. 2025, July 24, 2025Nearly half
of caregivers experienced at least one major financial impact.
The 2025 report includes impacts such as taking on debt, stopping savings or being unable to afford food.
Source: Caregiving in the U.S. 2025, July 24, 2025Advance planning
Many adults still do not have an advance directive on record.
These figures come from a systematic review of U.S. studies published in July 2017. The review examined studies published from 2011 through 2016.
36.7%
of U.S. adults in a large review had completed an advance directive.
The review analyzed 150 U.S. studies published from 2011 through 2016, covering 795,909 people.
Source: Approximately One In Three US Adults Completes Any Type Of Advance Directive For End-Of-Life Care, July 201729.3%
of people in that review had a living will.
Advance-directive names and requirements differ by state, so this is a national benchmark rather than a guide to any one state’s documents.
Source: Approximately One In Three US Adults Completes Any Type Of Advance Directive For End-Of-Life Care, July 2017Sources and methodology
How this reference page is kept useful.
This page uses published U.S. research with a named source and date for each figure. It does not combine different studies into new estimates or treat older figures as current when newer data is available. We will review these sources regularly and update the page when a more current, reliable report changes a key number.
- Caregiving in the U.S. 2025, AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, July 24, 2025.
- Approximately One In Three US Adults Completes Any Type Of Advance Directive For End-Of-Life Care, Health Affairs, systematic review indexed by PubMed, July 2017.
Cite this page
LifeBridge Planner. “Family Caregiving and Advance Planning Statistics.” Updated October 23, 2026. https://life-bridge-plan.com/family-caregiving-and-advance-planning-statistics.
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