Who are America’s Grandparents Today?
One in three U.S. adults age 35-plus (35%) and half of adults age 50-plus (50%) are grandparents (AARP Research analysis of the 2023 Survey of Income and Program Participation). In total, there are about 65 million grandparents in America today. This represents a decline from the roughly 70 million reported in AARP’s 2018 Grandparents Survey, reflecting well-documented demographic shifts as fewer adults have children and many do so later in life. These changes shape if and when grandparenthood begins, and the life stage in which it unfolds.
Grandparents today span multiple generations. The average age of a grandparent is 68, and most (64%) are between age 60 and 79. On average, grandparents are 50 when they have their first grandchild.
Age of grandparents
Current age
Age became grandparent
Women make up 58% of grandparents. Most grandparents today (92%) have at least a high school diploma, with about one in four (27%) holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. While three in four (74%) are retired or not working, about one in four (26%) are employed—usually full-time—and most of these grandparents are younger, between 35 and 59.
Many carry additional identities that shape their experience:
- 3% identify as LGBTQ+
- 15% are veterans
- 27% live with a physical, mental, or neurological condition affecting their daily activities
One in five grandparents (20%) speak a language other than English at home, and one in ten (11%) were born outside the U.S, connecting current and future generations to family heritage and multilingual networks.
About the grandchildren
(includes greats)
(includes greats)
Percent who have grandchildren in each age range
Today’s grandparents are embracing a diverse generation of grandchildren. Consistent with broader demographic shifts, grandparents report substantial diversity within their own families: 23% of their grandchildren are mixed race or a race/ethnicity different from their own, and 9% practice a faith or religion different from their grandparents’.
Diversity also extends beyond race and religion. According to these grandparents, 7% of their grandchildren identify as LGBTQ+, 20% are neurodivergent, and 12% live with physical, emotional, developmental, or cognitive challenges that affect daily life, underscoring that generational diversity encompasses identity, ability, and experience as much as demographics. As a 90-year-old grandmother in our study reflected, “I appreciate the fact that they [my grandchildren] are more open to change and accepting of everyone.”
Grandparents also hold a diverse range of racial and ethnic identities and backgrounds influencing their grandparenting experiences. Dedicated research spotlights explore these patterns in-depth for four groups:
- African American/Black Grandparents: African American/Black grandparents enter the role earlier than any other group, often at midlife, and carry it across decades of competing work, parenting, and caregiving demands. Yet the emotional commitment holds steady across all ages: a pattern of stewardship defined by showing up, passing down what matters, and staying present.
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Grandparents: AAPI grandparents are the most deeply embedded in daily family life, with the highest rates of shared living and caregiving, and the lowest rates of primary caregiver responsibility. The result is a grandparenting experience that is often high in involvement but steady in its emotional register, collaborative rather than custodial.
- Hispanic/Latino Grandparents: For Hispanic/Latino grandparents, strong family connections function as infrastructure, expressed through high rates of shared living, frequent caregiving, and consistent contact that persists even across distance. This group reports both the most joy and the most challenge, with a distinctive midlife peak in fulfillment that does not appear in other groups.
- White Grandparents: White grandparents are the most geographically dispersed group in the study, with distance shaping nearly every dimension of the experience. They bridge that distance through the highest spending of any group, role identities grounded in steady observation and support, and strong relationships with grandchildren’s parents.