National Caregivers Day 2026: Honoring the People Who Show Up Every Day

Right now, roughly 63 million American adults are providing ongoing care to a family member, friend, or neighbor with a serious medical condition or disability. That's nearly one in four adults in the United States — a number that has grown by 45 percent in just the last decade, according to the 2025 Caregiving in the US report from the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. National Caregivers Day 2026, observed on February 20, is a moment to pause and recognize the enormous — and often invisible — contributions these individuals make every single day. Whether they're helping a parent recover from surgery, managing medications for a spouse with a chronic illness, or coordinating medical appointments for a grandparent with dementia, caregivers are the quiet foundation holding millions of families together.

This isn't just a feel-good holiday. National Caregivers Day 2026 is a chance to understand what caregiving actually looks like in this country, learn about the people doing this work, and find meaningful ways to show up for them.

What Is National Caregivers Day?

National Caregivers Day falls on the third Friday of February each year, so the 2026 observance is on February 20. The day is dedicated to recognizing both professional and family caregivers who devote their time, energy, and emotional reserves to caring for others. It's distinct from National Family Caregivers Month, which takes place every November and focuses more broadly on awareness campaigns and policy advocacy over a full 30 days.

National Caregivers Day 2026 serves as a focused, single-day reminder that the people providing hands-on care deserve our attention and gratitude — not just in passing, but through deliberate action. For many Americans, this day reminds many to stop and consider just how much a caregiver in their life is actually doing behind the scenes.

Why It's Important to Recognize Caregivers

Caregiving is demanding work that takes a real toll. According to the 2025 Caregiving in the US report, 64 percent of caregivers experience moderate or high emotional stress, and 45 percent report significant physical strain. Nearly one in four caregivers say they feel alone in their role — a number that has climbed since 2020. Perhaps most striking, 56 percent of all family caregivers say they felt they had no choice in becoming a caregiver, and those individuals experience significantly worse mental and physical health outcomes than those who felt the role was voluntary.

The financial burden is equally heavy. About half of all family caregivers have experienced at least one negative financial impact due to their caregiving responsibilities. One-third have stopped saving money entirely, 24 percent have depleted their short-term savings, and 23 percent have taken on additional debt. African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, younger, and lower-income caregivers are disproportionately affected by these financial pressures.

Recognition matters because it counteracts the isolation and invisibility that so many caregivers feel. Even small gestures — a phone call, a meal dropped off, a sincere thank-you — can remind a caregiver that their effort is seen. National Caregivers Day 2026 gives all of us a reason to make that gesture intentional rather than leaving it to chance.

What Is a Caregiver, and What Do They Actually Do?

When most people hear the word "caregiver," they might picture a nurse in scrubs or a home health aide. But the reality is far broader. A caregiver is anyone who provides regular assistance to another person who needs help due to illness, injury, disability, or aging. That assistance can range from driving someone to a doctor's appointment to administering injections, managing finances, or helping with bathing and dressing. The scope of caregiving in the United States is staggering, and understanding the different types of caregivers helps paint a clearer picture of who is doing this work and why they need support.

Family and Informal Caregivers

The vast majority of caregivers in the U.S. are unpaid family members or friends. Of the 59 million adults caring for someone age 18 or older, most are looking after a parent or parent-in-law (47 percent), followed by a spouse or partner (15 percent). Eleven percent care for a nonrelative such as a friend or neighbor. These caregivers handle everything from grocery shopping, meal preparation, and transportation to managing medications, monitoring chronic conditions, and advocating with healthcare providers. Eighty-four percent of caregivers assist with three or more instrumental activities of daily living, and 65 percent help with at least one activity of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, or getting in and out of bed.

Despite the complexity and physical demands of these tasks, only 11 percent of family caregivers have received any formal training for the daily living assistance they provide, and just 22 percent have received training for the medical and nursing tasks they perform.

Professional Caregivers

Professional caregivers include home health aides, certified nursing assistants, hospice workers, and other paid care staff who provide medical, personal, or rehabilitative care in clinical or home settings. These workers are trained and compensated for their services, though their wages are often low relative to the demands of the job. National Caregivers Day 2026 recognizes their contributions alongside those of unpaid family caregivers.

Other Caregiving Roles

Caregiving doesn't fit neatly into one category. Nearly one-third of all family caregivers are part of the "sandwich generation," meaning they care for both an adult with health needs and a child under 18 living at home. Among caregivers under 50, that number jumps to 47 percent. There are also long-distance caregivers who coordinate care from more than an hour away — over 10 percent of caregivers fall into this group. An estimated 4 million children under age 18 assist their families with caregiving tasks for an adult, from doing household chores to helping monitor a loved one's condition.

The average caregiver is 51 years old, spends 27 hours per week providing care, and has been doing so for an average of 5.5 years. Nearly one in four caregivers provides 40 or more hours of care per week — the equivalent of a full-time job, often on top of actual paid employment.

A Short History of National Caregivers Day

National Caregivers Day was established to bring focused attention to the millions of people providing care across the country. The holiday grew out of a broader movement in caregiver advocacy that gained momentum through the late 1990s and 2000s, as organizations like the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP began publishing research that quantified the scope of family caregiving for the first time. Their landmark Caregiving in the US study, first published in 1997 and updated roughly every five years since, has been instrumental in documenting the rising prevalence of caregiving and the challenges caregivers face.

Over time, the day has gained recognition alongside related observances, such as National Family Caregivers Month in November. As the U.S. population ages and the demand for long-term care continues to outpace the supply of affordable professional services, National Caregivers Day 2026 carries even more weight than it did a decade ago. The number of family caregivers has grown from 43.5 million in 2015 to 63 million in 2025, and policy conversations about caregiver support — from tax credits to paid family leave — are more active than ever.

How to Honor the Caregivers in Your Life

Recognizing a caregiver doesn't require a grand gesture. Often, the most meaningful forms of support are practical, personal, and grounded in what that person actually needs. If you're looking for ways to observe National Caregivers Day 2026 — or honestly, any day — here are some approaches that can make a real difference.

Offer Respite Care

Respite care is temporary care provided to a care recipient so that their primary caregiver can take a break. It might mean stepping in for a few hours yourself, hiring a professional respite provider, or arranging for an adult day program. The concept is simple, but its impact is significant: even a short period of relief can help prevent the burnout that so many caregivers experience.

Despite that, respite care remains dramatically underused. While 39 percent of caregivers say respite services would be helpful to them, only 13 percent actually use them. Barriers range from lack of trust in substitute care and concerns about quality to complicated application processes and limited availability of trained providers. If you can offer a caregiver in your life a few hours of genuine relief, whether by sitting with their loved one, taking over errands, or funding a professional respite session, you're giving them something they're unlikely to ask for on their own.

Give a Thoughtful Gift

The best gifts for caregivers tend to be ones that lighten their load rather than add to it. Taking a caregiver out for a meal gives them a chance to sit down, eat something they didn't have to prepare, and have a conversation that isn't about care schedules or medical updates. Treating them to something relaxing,  a massage, a quiet afternoon at a bookstore, a long walk without responsibilities,  can be restorative in ways that a physical gift can't match.

Practical support is just as valuable. Handling a caregiver's grocery shopping, dropping off prepared meals, running errands, or tackling a household task they've been putting off are all deeply appreciated forms of recognition. Gift cards for food delivery, gas, or self-care services are useful because they let the caregiver decide what they need most. And a handwritten note that specifically acknowledges what they do — not a generic "thinking of you," but something that names the effort you've actually observed — can mean more than almost anything else.

Spend Quality Time Together

Caregivers often lose their sense of identity outside their caregiving role. Their social lives shrink, their hobbies fall away, and their conversations start to revolve entirely around the person they're caring for. One of the most powerful things you can do is spend time with a caregiver doing something that has nothing to do with caregiving.

Watch a movie together. Go to a museum. Sit on the porch and talk about something completely unrelated to medical appointments. The goal is to remind them that they are a whole person, not just a caregiver. And don't limit this to National Caregivers Day 2026 alone — checking in regularly, even with a short text or a brief phone call, helps combat the isolation that nearly a quarter of caregivers report feeling.

Caregiver Tools and Resources

Honoring caregivers on a single day is a start, but sustained support requires ongoing access to information, training, and community. Many caregivers don't know what resources are available to them — 38 percent report that no comprehensive care plan exists for the person they're looking after, and 30 percent say they need more help managing their own emotional or physical stress.

AARP's Caregiver Resource Center at aarp.org/caregiving offers a wide range of tools, including webinars, planning guides, financial worksheets, and toolkits designed to help caregivers navigate everything from insurance paperwork to end-of-life decisions. The National Alliance for Caregiving at caregiving.org publishes research, policy briefs, and practical resources to keep caregivers informed about programs available to them, including Medicaid self-direction waivers and veterans' caregiver support programs. The Caregiver Action Network is another valuable resource for peer support and educational materials.

If you know a caregiver, sharing these resources with them can be one of the most useful things you do this National Caregivers Day 2026. Many caregivers are so focused on their loved one's needs that they never take the time to seek out support for themselves.

Making Every Day Count for Caregivers

National Caregivers Day i's a date worth marking on the calendar. But the 63 million Americans providing care to someone they love don't get to clock out when the calendar flips to February 21. The physical strain, the emotional weight, the financial pressure, and the quiet loneliness of caregiving don't observe holidays.

What caregivers need most is not a single day of recognition. It's a culture that sees them, supports them, and builds systems around them — better workplace flexibility, more accessible respite care, real financial relief, and communities that check in rather than look away. This National Caregivers Day 2026, start with one thing: reach out to a caregiver you know and ask what they actually need. Then follow through.

Frequently Asked Questions About National Caregivers Day 2026

When is National Caregivers Day 2026?

National Caregivers Day 2026 is on Friday, February 20, 2026, and is observed on the third Friday of February each year.

What is the difference between National Caregivers Day and National Family Caregivers Month?

National Caregivers Day is a single-day observance in February honoring all caregivers, while National Family Caregivers Month spans all of November and focuses on broader awareness and policy advocacy for family caregivers.

How many caregivers are there in the United States?

Approximately 63 million American adults — nearly one in four — currently provide ongoing care to an adult or child with a medical condition or disability, according to the 2025 Caregiving in the US report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving.

What are the best ways to support a caregiver?

Offering respite care, handling practical tasks like grocery shopping or meal prep, spending quality time together, and sharing resources from organizations like AARP's Caregiver Resource Center are all meaningful ways to help.

What is respite care?

Respite care is temporary care provided to a care recipient so their primary caregiver can take a break to rest or handle personal needs. Despite 39 percent of caregivers saying it would be helpful, only 13 percent currently use it.

Where can caregivers find resources and support?

AARP's Caregiver Resource Center at aarp.org/caregiving and the National Alliance for Caregiving at caregiving.org both offer webinars, toolkits, research, and planning guides for caregivers.