Caregiving Years Training Academy
Your Caregiving Saves
Real Money
Every hour you care for your caree is an hour that would otherwise cost the healthcare system — and your family — dearly. See what your caregiving contribution is truly worth.
Tell us about your caregiving experience and responsibilities
Your best guess is exactly right. There's no wrong answer here — just an honest estimate that helps us reflect your contribution back to you.
Assessing
Advocating
Communicating
Deciding
Managing
Planning
Providing
Sustaining
Being
Assessment complete. Scroll down to calculate your value.
Professional equivalents: care systems integrator ($55/hr) · behavioral health specialist ($50/hr) · mediator / conflict resolution specialist ($45/hr) · social worker ($45/hr) · therapist / counselor ($45/hr) · Aging Life Care Professional ($43/hr) · patient advocate ($42/hr) · patient educator ($40/hr) · life coach / wellness coordinator ($40/hr) · care planners ($38/hr) · elder law paralegal ($35/hr) · emergency coordinators ($35/hr) · staff educator / clinical trainer ($35/hr) · personal chef / meal prep ($30/hr) · grief counselors ($30/hr) · household managers ($30/hr) · bookkeepers ($30/hr) · direct support professional ($28/hr) · tech support ($25/hr) · health information specialist / medication managers / DME coordinators ($22/hr) · activity aides / transport ($22/hr) · medical schedulers / supply coordinators ($20/hr)
Every system has a reimbursement rate.
Except one.
Except one.
Home health aide
$34/hr
Aging Life Care Professional
$43/hr
Care systems integrator
$55/hr
Behavioral health specialist
$50/hr
Patient advocate
$42/hr
Emergency coordinator
$35/hr
Grief counselor
$30/hr
Life coach & wellness coordinator
$40/hr
Household manager
$30/hr
Medical scheduler
$20/hr
The non-reimbursed family caregiver
$0/hr
The systems provide once-in-a-while care and receive reimbursement when they do.
Non-reimbursed family caregivers provide care 24/7 — and receive nothing in return.
Family caregivers are the only system without a reimbursement rate.
That changes when we name it.
Why we say non-reimbursed, not unpaid →
Your estimated annual contribution
$0
in non-reimbursed professional-grade care — every year
How we calculated your number
Your caregiving experience and responsibilities
$0
Monthly value of your caregiving
0
Total hours contributed since you began
$0
Total value across all your caregiving years
How your annual contribution compares to paid care
— Denise Brown, Caregiving Years Training Academy
↓ Keep scrolling — answer two more questions and get your shareable graphic
Workshop Archive
Defining Your Caregiving Value
Watch the recording, any time
Define your experience. Calculate your value. Claim your expertise. Catch the full workshop on your own schedule.
Watch the Recording →
Two more questions
Your answers deepen our understanding of what family caregivers experience. No right or wrong answers here.
↓ Scroll down to answer two more questions about your experience
Share your number with family caregivers who get it
Post your graphic in the Caring Our Way community and use the hashtag #mycarevalue — so every family caregiver can see what this work is truly worth.
Share in Caring Our Way →Know someone who needs to understand what your caregiving is worth?
Send them this calculator. Sometimes the numbers say what words can’t. Let them see what you do — and what it would cost if you didn’t.
What this means for the systems around you
Because of family caregivers like you, the United States saves more than $1 trillion in formal care costs every year — more than the entire federal Medicaid budget. Your contribution is not a footnote. It is the foundation of long-term care in America. AARP’s Valuing the Invaluable 2026 report values the average caregiving hour at $20.41 — but professional market rates run significantly higher. This calculator uses professional market comparisons so you can see what your care would actually cost someone to hire.
You’ve spent years giving. The Caregiving Years Training Academy exists to give something back to you — comfort, community, and guidance for every stage of this journey.
Join Caring Our Way →
Sources: AARP Valuing the Invaluable 2026 ($1.01 trillion annual value; $20.41/hr national average); CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey (home aide $34–35/hr; assisted living $74,400/yr; nursing home semi-private $114,975/yr); Salary.com, ZipRecruiter, PayScale & BLS 2025–2026 (care systems integrator $55/hr; behavioral health specialist $50/hr; mediator / conflict resolution specialist $45/hr; social worker $45/hr; therapist / counselor $45/hr; Aging Life Care Professional $43/hr; patient advocate / healthcare navigator $42/hr; patient educator / health educator $40/hr; life coach / wellness coordinator $40/hr; care planner / emergency coordinator $35–38/hr; elder law paralegal $35/hr; staff educator / clinical trainer $35/hr; personal chef / meal prep $30/hr; grief counselor $30/hr; household manager $30/hr; bookkeeper $30/hr; direct support professional $28/hr; tech support $25/hr; health information specialist $22/hr; medication manager / DME coordinator $22/hr; activity aide / NEMT transport $22/hr; medical scheduler / supply coordinator $20/hr). Calculation uses the highest-rate care type selected.
This tool and assessment are an original work of Denise Brown and The Caregiving Years Training Academy. All frameworks and content — including the Six Caregiving Stages™, 9 Caregiving Domains™, 19 Caregiving Systems™, and 14 Caregiving Fatigues™ — are proprietary intellectual property. We offer this free resource to support all family caregivers. Reproduction and/or adaptation requires written permission. © 2026 Denise Brown / The Caregiving Years Training Academy. All rights reserved.
Together, we’ve calculated
🇺🇸 United States
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family caregivers
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total annual value
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total hours contributed
🌎 Worldwide
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family caregivers
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total annual value
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total hours contributed
Updated each time a family caregiver calculates their value
Wow! I had no idea how much my caregiving was worth!
Thanks so much calculating your value, Kim!
I am with him 24/7 but not physically caring for him all that time so it is hard to estimate how much time is involved. I am always available to him and responsible for his care at all times.
You can definitely calculate the hours per day you spend together. That’s a great estimate.
Wow, this was so interesting to see! I had no idea how caregiving was valued monetarily.
This “blows me away.” It seems so enormous I cannot comprehend it. What it does help me begin to do is… begin to learn to value my contribution. Thank you for giving me the gift of naming what society has ignored.
I’m so glad this was helpful, Helen!! You are invaluable!!
love this. Are you all ok if I repost this on my substack?
Yes, please repost! We appreciate your support.