As America’s population ages, millions of adults are stepping into caregiving roles — and lower-income families are carrying much of that burden, according to a new Pew Research Center report.
The study, based on a September 2025 survey of 8,750 U.S. adults, examines how Americans are caring for parents, spouses and partners age 65 and older.
Who is providing care?
Pew found that 10% of U.S. adults say they are caregivers for a parent age 65 or older, while 3% care for a spouse or partner in that age group.
Among adults who have a parent age 65 or older, 24% consider themselves caregivers. The share rises to 25% among those with an aging spouse or partner.
Income plays a major role. Among adults with an aging parent, spouse or partner, 39% of lower-income adults say they are caregivers. That compares with 23% of middle-income adults and 16% of upper-income adults.
Caregiving also increases with age. Adults with a parent age 75 or older are nearly twice as likely to be caregivers as those with a parent ages 65 to 74, 31% versus 16%.
What caregivers do
Roughly two-thirds of caregivers for aging parents (68%) and aging spouses or partners (66%) say they regularly help with at least one major task.
For parents, the most common help includes errands, housework or home repairs (52%), managing health care (42%) and managing finances (39%). About 16% regularly help with personal care such as bathing or dressing.
Those caring for spouses or partners most often help manage health care (48%) and finances (48%), followed closely by errands and household tasks (47%). About 19% provide personal care.
The impact on caregivers
Among adults who regularly help an aging parent, 56% say caregiving has had a positive impact on their relationship with that parent.
But many report personal costs. More say caregiving has negatively affected their emotional well-being (39%), physical health (33%), financial situation (32%), job or career (30% among those employed) and social life (36%) than say it has helped in those areas.
Gender gaps are significant. Among those caring for an aging parent, 47% of women say the experience has negatively affected their emotional well-being, compared with 30% of men. Women are also more likely to report negative impacts on their physical health.
Caregivers for spouses or partners report a more mixed picture. While 44% say caregiving has improved their relationship, views are more evenly split on emotional, physical and financial impacts.
Policy support
The report also finds broad support for policies aimed at helping family caregivers.
Seventy-eight percent of Americans say they would favor federal tax credits to help pay for caregiving. Seventy-one percent support paying for short-term care to give caregivers a break, 69% favor requiring employers to provide paid family leave, and 63% support direct payments to help with caregiving costs.
Support crosses party lines, though Democrats are more likely than Republicans to back several of the proposals.
Researchers say the findings highlight the growing strain on families as the U.S. population ages — and the uneven way that strain is distributed across income levels and genders.
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