Unpaid Older Adult Care in Alaska

Alaska

While many older adults receive the additional care they need in assisted living facilities or from home health services, unpaid elder care is also often provided by family members, friends or volunteers. Caregiving may involve assistance with personal care, cooking, cleaning and transportation, as well as providing companionship. 

Family caregivers in the United States — more than half of whom work other jobs — dedicate an average of 22.8 hours a week to caregiving. In the two-year period of 2023-2024, there were 38.2 million unpaid elder care providers in the United States, 55% of whom were women. Studies have found that lacking adequate care options for loved ones hinders many women from fully participating in the workforce. 

As the U.S. population ages, the demand for elder care will also increase. By 2030, 20% of the population will have reached retirement age, increasing the need for elder care. 

Unpaid caregivers face various challenges, including financial strain, worse health outcomes, caregiver burnout and higher rates of anxiety and depression. According to AARP, the value of care provided by unpaid family caregivers in the U.S. was $600 billion in 2021 — a $130 billion increase from 2019. In 2025, nearly 48 million adult caregivers were unpaid for the care they provided.

The prevalence of unpaid elder care work is higher among:

• Women compared with men. Women age 55 and older account for more than one-third of unpaid caregivers for older adults in the U.S.
• Adults age 45 and older compared with younger adults. 
• Family members compared with friends or volunteers. 
• Adults living in nonmetropolitan areas compared with those living in metropolitan areas. Caregiving in rural areas comes with unique challenges, such as limited access to health services, longer travel distances to reach care recipients and fewer available resources. 

Providing training and education programs for caregivers is essential to improving their skills and mitigating their stress. The American College of Physicians has a tool kit for physicians and caregivers on informal caregiving. This tool kit offers training, best practices and additional resources to help physicians connect with their patients’ caregivers to share knowledge and support. 

The National Family Caregiver Support Program allocates funds to states and territories to assist family members and other informal caregivers in caring for older adults at home for as long as possible. Services include individual counseling, caregiver training, respite care and supplemental services. Research indicates that these services strengthen the health and well-being of caregivers and enable them to provide care for longer.

AARP also offers a variety of resources to support individuals caring for their loved ones, including coping strategies, caregiving tool kits and tips for dealing with unique challenges such as dementia. The Family Caregivers Alliance provides educational resources and caregiver training as well.

In addition, the proposed Credit for Caring Act offers a nonrefundable federal tax credit of up to $5,000 for eligible working family caregivers, reducing the financial burden they may face due to caregiving expenses. 

Healthy People 2030 has multiple objectives aimed at supporting caregivers, including: 

• Reducing anxiety and depression in family caregivers of people with disabilities.
• Reducing the impact of chronic pain that frequently limits life or work activities on loved ones.
• Increasing the proportion of older adults with dementia, or their caregivers, who know they have it.

2026 Caregiver Statistics: Family Caregiving in the U.S. A Place for Mom, 2026. https://www.aplaceformom.com/senior-living-data/caregiver-statistics.

AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving. Caregiving in the US 2025. Washington, D.C.: AARP Public Policy Institute, July 24, 2025. https://doi.org/10.26419/ppi.00373.001.

Cohen, Steven A., Zachary J. Kunicki, Caitlin C. Nash, Megan M. Drohan, and Mary L. Greaney. “Rural-Urban Differences in Caregiver Burden Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Among a National Sample of Informal Caregivers.” Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine 7 (January 2021): 233372142110251. https://doi.org/10.1177/23337214211025124.

Fields, Beth, Juleen Rodakowski, Vanessa D. Jewell, Sajay Arthanat, Melissa Park, Catherine Verrier Piersol, Stacey L. Schepens Niemiec, Jennifer Womack, and Tracy M. Mroz. “Unpaid Caregiving and Aging in Place in the United States: Advancing the Value of Occupational Therapy.” The American Journal of Occupational Therapy 75, no. 5 (September 1, 2021): 7505347010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2021.044735.

Henning-Smith, Carrie, and Megan Lahr. Perspectives on Rural Caregiving Challenges and Interventions. Policy Brief. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, August 2018. https://rhrc.umn.edu/wp-content/files_mf/1535129278UMNpolicybriefcaregivingchallenges.pdf.

Livingston, Gretchen. Older Women and Unpaid Caregiving in the U.S. Issue Brief. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, November 2023. https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WB/WBIssueBrief-OlderWomenAndUnpaidCaregiving.pdf.

Schulz, Richard, and Paula R. Sherwood. “Physical and Mental Health Effects of Family Caregiving.” The American Journal of Nursing 108, no. 9 (September 2008): 23–27. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000336406.45248.4c.

Unpaid Eldercare in the United States — 2023-2024 Data from the American Time Use Survey. News Release. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 25, 2025. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/elcare.pdf.