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New caregiving research shows 63 million caregivers and wider tech use; researchers point to payment and intensity trends
Summary
Research presenters at the ACL joint meeting summarized the Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 study: 63 million adults now identify as caregivers, technology use (including remote monitoring) has increased markedly, roughly 11.2 million caregivers now receive some payment for care, and caregiving intensity and duration have grown.
George Kueppers, senior research manager at the National Alliance for Caregiving, summarized findings from the group’s Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 study during the RAISE/SGRG joint meeting. The study found that an estimated 63 million U.S. adults now identify as family caregivers — a substantial increase from prior years — and that caregiving has grown in intensity and duration.
Kueppers said technology use among caregivers rose sharply between 2020 and 2025: remote monitoring use nearly doubled (from 13% to 25% in the study sample), and tele-tracking and assistive devices are increasingly common. He also said policy shifts accelerated during the pandemic have led to more caregivers receiving payments in some programs — the study estimated about 11.2 million caregivers now receive some payment for care through Medicaid self-direction waivers, Veterans Affairs, or state programs.
The report documented that two-thirds of caregivers assist with at least one activity of daily living and that about 30% of caregivers provide care for five years or more. The study also identified disparities: lower-income caregivers and caregivers of color report greater financial strain and higher levels of caregiving intensity.
Why this matters: The findings underscore the scale of unpaid caregiving and the growing role of technology and paid-family-care models in the care ecosystem. Speakers said these trends inform Strategy update deliberations on workforce, training, outreach and equitable service delivery.
Next steps: The research team's CARE Network resources and a compendium of evidence-based caregiving interventions are being developed to support practitioners and state grantees with actionable program choices; grantees at the meeting said they will coordinate evaluation and share tools on ACL and partner sites.
"Caregiving is increasingly intensive and long-term," Kueppers said. "These data suggest a stronger case for integrated policy responses across training, pay and access to services."
