What Caregiving Costs
Our Communities
When family caregivers and carees step away from community life, a hidden economic toll accumulates — one that most communities have never measured. Until now.
After my parents died, I went back out into the world. I traveled to conferences, shopped at stores, and spent money at restaurants. I did what I had stopped doing when my caregiving experience intensified — I stopped spending money.
I know I'm not alone in this experience. When a caregiving situation begins, at least two individuals step back from our communities — the caree and the family caregiver. My parents had been wonderful contributors to local, regional, and national economies until their illnesses and declines kept them home.
We often look to the cost to the health care system, and importantly, to the family caregiver. But it's equally important to measure the impact on the economy of our local communities. The math tells a significant story.
And the impact extends beyond economics. When a crisis strikes — a severe storm, a flood, a power outage — family caregivers and carees are among the most vulnerable and the least prepared. A community with Certified Caregiving Consultants™ has a resource others don't: trained professionals who can facilitate Family Emergency Planning sessions, helping households create written plans before disaster strikes. Prepared families make more resilient communities.
Has caregiving changed how you spend?
The numbers in this calculator are built on research — but the real story lives in your experience. Whether you stopped going out, skipped the haircut, or let the gym membership lapse, what happened to your spending when caregiving began?
Takes about 3 minutes. Your answers help shape the picture for every family caregiver who comes after you.
Share your experience →Anonymous · 3 minutes · Your story is heard
The Math Behind the Disconnect
A straightforward calculation reveals a staggering community-level cost that accumulates quietly, month after month, year after year.
Research estimates that 1 in 4 people provide care; we're taking a conservative approach to that number. In a community of 100,000 residents, roughly 15,000 may be navigating a caregiving situation. If each family caregiver who once spent just $20 per week visiting local restaurants and shops stops spending, then:
15,000 caregivers × $20 × 4 weeks = $1,200,000 per month. That's $14.4 million annually — and this is a conservative estimate.
This spending doesn't simply pivot to other services. Home care — often the only alternative — is out of reach for the vast majority of families. A home care executive recently noted that he knows he's providing services only 5% of families can afford. The rest go without, which keeps them further disconnected from their communities.
The result: family caregivers are in their homes, working around the clock, unable to participate in the business, social, and religious life of their communities. And alongside each one is a caree who has also stepped back — multiplying the impact.
Calculate Your Community's Impact
Adjust the sliders to reflect your community's size and circumstances. Toggle between the current reality and what becomes possible when caregiving support is in place.
Community Caregiving Economic Calculator
All calculations occur in your browser. Use real figures or estimates — either way, the pattern is clear.
Cumulative economic impact
Community participation drop
Download opens a print dialog — choose "Save as PDF." Email opens your email client with your numbers pre-filled. Your information is used only to send you your report and is never sold.
The ROI of a Certified Caregiving Consultant™
A Certified Caregiving Consultant™ (CCC) is trained to support family caregivers through every stage of the experience. See what one CCC — or a team of CCCs — returns to your community across three streams of measurable value.
CCC Community ROI Calculator
Adjust the inputs to reflect your community. The investment is $3,000 per CCC (Bronze certification, effective May 1, 2026).
"Our caregiving experiences can be detrimental to our well-being and financial security. And our caregiving experience puts the financial well-being of our communities at risk as well."
— Denise M. Brown, The Caregiving Years Training Academy
