Table 14. Number and percent of eldercare providers (1) by sex and selected characteristics, 2011 annual averages
(Numbers in thousands)
Eldercare providers (1)
Total Men Women
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Total, 15 years and over......................................... 39,794 100.0 17,652 100.0 22,142 100.0
Parent of household children under 18 years
Parent of 1 or more household children........................... 9,040 22.7 3,707 21.0 5,333 24.1
Not a parent of a household child................................ 30,755 77.3 13,945 79.0 16,809 75.9
Number of care recipients
Caring for 1 person.............................................. 27,416 68.9 11,579 65.6 15,837 71.5
Caring for 2 persons............................................. 9,044 22.7 4,470 25.3 4,574 20.7
Caring for 3 or more persons..................................... 3,334 8.4 1,604 9.1 1,731 7.8
Relationship to care recipient
Total, all eldercare providers (2)............................... 39,794 100.0 17,652 100.0 22,142 100.0
Caring for a spouse or unmarried partner (3).................. 1,731 4.3 696 3.9 1,035 4.7
Caring for a parent........................................... 16,879 42.4 7,097 40.2 9,782 44.2
Caring for a grandparent (4).................................. 7,605 19.1 3,376 19.1 4,228 19.1
Caring for another related person............................. 8,253 20.7 4,281 24.3 3,971 17.9
Caring for someone else....................................... 10,095 25.4 4,499 25.5 5,596 25.3
Eldercare providers caring for 1 person only.................. 27,416 100.0 11,579 100.0 15,837 100.0
Caring for a spouse or unmarried partner (3)............... 1,516 5.5 622 5.4 894 5.6
Caring for a parent........................................ 11,436 41.7 4,627 40.0 6,809 43.0
Caring for a grandparent (4)............................... 4,895 17.9 1,979 17.1 2,916 18.4
Caring for another related person.......................... 4,807 17.5 2,377 20.5 2,430 15.3
Caring for someone else.................................... 4,762 17.4 1,973 17.0 2,788 17.6
Care of household or nonhousehold members
Provided eldercare to household members only..................... 5,200 13.1 2,618 14.8 2,583 11.7
Provided eldercare to nonhousehold members only.................. 33,886 85.2 14,628 82.9 19,258 87.0
Provided eldercare to both household and nonhousehold persons.... 708 1.8 406 2.3 301 1.4
See footnotes at end of table.
Table 14. Number and percent of eldercare providers (1) by sex and selected characteristics, 2011 annual averages--Continued
(Numbers in thousands)
Eldercare providers (1)
Total Men Women
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Frequency of care (5)
Provided care daily.............................................. 8,076 20.3 3,403 19.3 4,674 21.1
Provided care several times a week............................... 9,399 23.6 4,332 24.5 5,067 22.9
Provided care once a week........................................ 7,944 20.0 3,866 21.9 4,078 18.4
Provided care several times a month.............................. 8,069 20.3 3,458 19.6 4,610 20.8
Provided care once a month....................................... 4,513 11.3 1,881 10.7 2,632 11.9
Other............................................................ 1,793 4.5 712 4.0 1,081 4.9
Duration of care (6)
Provided care less than 1 year................................... 9,552 24.0 3,755 21.3 5,797 26.2
Provided care 1 to 2 years....................................... 10,417 26.2 4,645 26.3 5,772 26.1
Provided care 3 to 4 years....................................... 6,095 15.3 2,752 15.6 3,343 15.1
Provided care 5 years or more.................................... 13,730 34.5 6,501 36.8 7,230 32.7
1 Eldercare providers are those who in the previous 3 to 4 months cared for someone with a condition related to aging. Estimates were
calculated for persons who cared for at least one person age 65 or over.
2 Estimates in relationship subcategories sum to more than 100 percent because some eldercare providers cared for more than one person.
3 Care for a spouse or partner may be underreported. See the Technical Note for more information.
4 Persons caring for a grandparent with whom they lived are included in the category "Caring for another related person."
5 Survey participants were asked how often they provided care in the past 3 to 4 months; this information was used to categorize them by
frequency of care. Corresponding time and percent estimates were measured using information about care provided on the diary day.
6 For persons who provided eldercare to more than 1 person, the duration of care is calculated based on the person for whom they had cared
the longest.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 15 years and over.
United States Department of Labor
