38 million Americans give unpaid care to someone over 65. How many hours do they put in on an average care day?

Drag to get close · ▲▼ to fine-tune

On the days care actually happens, caregivers put in an average of 3.9 hours, though only 28% of them are providing care on any given day. Those who are themselves 65 or older put in more, an average of 4.9 hours taking care of their elders.

Unpaid caregivers put in nearly 4 hours on a care day. The ones who are themselves over 65 put in nearly 5.

Source: BLS American Time Use Survey · checked Sep 2025