Caregiving Statistics

Caregiving is the act of assisting someone you care about, who is chronically ill or disabled and unable to care for him/herself. Caring for a family member with a disability can be both a rewarding and an overwhelming experience. Sometimes the demands of the caregiving role can cause the person giving care to lose focus of his or her own needs and identity, and feelings of depression or burn-out may set in.

• Between 44 and 54 million people provide care for a loved one in the United States.
• More than a quarter of the adult population has provided care for a chronically ill, disabled, or older family member at some time.
• 80% of new people applying for state Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) services are under the age of 22.
• Approximately 24,000 people, out of a total of 37,000 who are registered with DDD, live with their families. That’s 65% of people registered with DDD, and yet these families receive only 9% of DDD’s budget to help care for their family member.
• There are over 1.06 million caregivers in New Jersey alone.
• Caregivers are twice as likely as non-caregivers to report physical and mental health complications and experience 63% more mortality risks than non-caregivers.
• Caregivers suffer from an increased risk of depression, anxiety disorders, diminished immune response, slower wound healing, and a greater incidence of hospitalization than do non-caregivers.
• 1 in 8 caregivers will become injured as a direct result of caregiving.
• The prevalence of age-related diseases and conditions will rise sharply and lead to an increased need for care if nothing is done.
• Over the course of a caregiving "career," family caregivers who provide intense personal care can lose as much as $659,000 in wages, pensions, and Social Security.
• Half of caregivers say their caregiving has resulted in less time for family and friends. 44 percent also report giving up vacations, hobbies and social activities as a result of their caregiving responsibilities.
• Thinking ahead, 66 percent of the population -- or more than 138 million Americans -- believe they will need to provide care to someone in the future.
• Family caregiving accounts for 80% of the long term care provided in the US at a value of more than $300 billion annually.
• Because of the lack of support services, most caregivers either miss work or are forced to quit their jobs, causing a decrease in productivity which has been estimated to cost US employers around $34 billion per year.
• 2.5 million grandparent-headed families are rasing 3.9 million children. Grandparent caregivers are 60% more likely to be in poverty than grandparents without such responsibilities.
• By 2020, adults requiring assistance with daily living will double, where will the help come from?
• 87% of caregivers do not believe their lives will improve without legislative action.