The percentage of grandparents responsible for taking care of their grandchildren in the United States has fallen sharply over the last decade, according to a Social Explorer analysis of newly released 2015-19 American Community Survey data. Fully 40 percent of grandparents took care of grandchildren in 2010; only 34 percent shared housing with them in 2019.

The decline was apparent in counties across the U.S. Kane County, Utah, located on the Arizona border, reported a 99 percent drop, falling from 208 to only two households with both grandparents and their grandchildren. Lyon County in southwestern Kentucky registered a 3,500 percent increase, soaring from three in 2010 to 108 last year. To see how the percentage of grandparents taking care of grandchildren in your county has changed over the decade, use Social Explorer’s award-winning online tools.

Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren, 2010-2018. Click here to explore further.

Author: Frank Bass