4 minute read
A national survey commissioned by LogicMark Inc. paints a stark picture of the nation’s caregiving crisis, finding that 90% of family caregivers report symptoms of burnout. And younger adults, particularly Gen Z, are carrying an outsized share of the burden.
The survey, conducted in April 2026 by Talker Research among 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide, comes as roughly 63 million Americans — or nearly one in four adults — are serving as family caregivers.
Researchers found that 20% of caregivers describe their burnout as severe. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about who is most affected by caregiving. Gen Z caregivers reported greater professional and personal strain than older generations.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents said that caregiving hurts their job performance, compared with 44% of millennials and 45% of Gen X respondents. Half of Gen Z respondents said caregiving has damaged personal relationships, exceeding the rates reported by millennials (41%) and Gen X (38%).
“Most people picture caregiving as a middle-aged concern and, alarmingly, they are avoiding conversations around this phenomenon,” said Chia-Lin Simmons, CEO of LogicMark. “The data says something totally different. Gen Z adults are quietly carrying one of the heaviest loads, and doing it without paid leave, any financial cushion or the support systems older generations had time to build. This is a generational emergency hiding in plain sight.”
Financial strain, cost of care
The survey also highlights the economic consequences of caregiving.
Nearly three in four respondents said caregiving has had or will have a significant impact on their financial stability, while 67% reported a direct effect on their careers.
Women and younger caregivers were among the groups most likely to report financial and professional setbacks — and lower-income families were disproportionately represented among caregivers facing the greatest strain.
These pressures are occurring alongside rising long-term care costs and limited institutional capacity.
Industry experts have warned that shortages in skilled nursing and assisted living are pushing more families toward in-home care as a necessity rather than a preference, even as home environments often require costly modifications.
Men were more likely to describe caregiving as rewarding while women were more likely to describe it as overwhelming and worrying. Women also reported greater concern about their own future care needs, with 43% saying they frequently think about the impact on their families, compared with 29% of men.
When asked about their greatest fear, caregivers most often cited a loved one refusing help, selected by 29% of respondents.
Aging in place is a structural reality
That shift is fueling growth in aging-in-place technology — a trend increasingly tied to housing economics and health care delivery.
Experts say American homes are not typically designed for long-term accessibility, with some estimating that fewer than 5% of U.S. homes are fully suitable for aging in place without modifications.
Cameron Carter, founder and CEO of Rosarium Health, recently told HousingWire that most families do not recognize the issue until a health crisis forces it.
“There’s a misunderstanding of who the buyer is,” he said. “There’s still an assumption that we build homes and when someone turns 65, they sell it to a family in their early 30s who is going to renovate it for aesthetic needs. Then they’re going to live the next 30 years and it’s just going to rinse and repeat.”
Carter argued that aging in place is becoming less about lifestyle choice and more about financial necessity as institutional care costs rise and waitlists for assisted living grow.
“You’re trying to find ways to age in place before you’ll even be able to get into preferred institutional care,” he said, citing growing delays in access to long-term care facilities.
Technology and the home as care infrastructure
More than three-quarters (77%) of caregivers in the LogicMark survey said they would embrace or try AI-powered health monitoring systems for a loved one.
That openness aligns with a broader shift in how experts view the home itself.
At a recent meeting of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, experts described a growing ecosystem of aging technology — from passive monitoring systems to transportation services and medication management tools — designed to keep older adults safely at home.
“Technology is not a panacea; it’s not a perfect solution, but it will play a part in the shortages that we face for health care providers,” said Chris Spearman, chief strategy officer for ScaleHealth. “Many of those shortages are being addressed at home because we don’t have enough places to put people.
“We’re far beyond grab rails, wider doorways and safety infrastructure. … New technologies can really take the home from being a place of entrapment or burden to a place that can help you live longer, healthier, more satisfying lives.”
This article was written by Jonathan Delozier and generated with the assistance of HousingWire Automation. It was reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication.
