According to a recent AARP study, there are approximately 65 million grandparents in the United States, and they play a significant role in supporting their families through regular childcare. Fifteen percent of these grandparents care for their grandchildren daily or almost daily, spending an average of over 500 hours per year, equivalent to 12½ weeks of full-time work, providing care.

Support from Grandparents

AARP’s 2025 survey of 3,300 grandparents found that nearly 70% provide some level of care. The unpaid labor and direct financial support from grandparents total an estimated $904 billion annually, with an average of $2,654 spent per grandparent on gifts, celebrations, basic needs, and other support in the past year.

Grandparents are becoming primary caregivers due to various factors, including economic pressures on younger families, such as high childcare costs, dual-income households, housing affordability challenges, and work demands. Other factors include parental incarceration, substance abuse, divorce, or death. About 2.4–2.5 million children live in households headed by grandparents or other relatives, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congress.

The number of Americans living in multigenerational homes has increased significantly, with roughly 59.7 million people living in such arrangements in 2021, up from 7% in 1971. Grandparents living with grandchildren numbered about 6.7 million in 2021, with roughly one-third serving as primary caregivers.

Original reporting: The Dallas Express — read the source article.