WHAT IS THE CARE ECONOMY?

The Care Economy consists of the money we put into caring for people—from the moment they’re born until the end of their lives. It is an expansive, evolving market that’s growing rapidly as we continue to recognize and quantify the demands of caregiving.

The Overview Map below charts the major categories of the Care Economy, as well as emerging sectors and adjacent markets contributing to its growth.

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$122B
HOUSEHOLD
MANAGEMENT
Investment areas
  • Cleaning
  • Laundry
  • Cooking
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$239B
NON-HOME
LONG-TERM CARE
Investment areas
  • Nursing homes, hospice, and palliative care (for older adults and adults with disabilities)
  • Long-term care insurance
  • Retirement centers
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$151B
AGING-IN-PLACE &
HOME-BASED CARE 

Investment areas
  • Daily essential activities
  • Social well-being
  • Aging-at-home coordination
  • Health & safety awareness (e.g. fall detection)
  • Professional and unpaid caregiver quality of life
  • Transition support (e.g. home retrofitting)
  • Home care provision (e.g. home health aides, products, and equipment) for older adults and adults with disabilities
  • Economic opportunities for older adults*
  • Learning, development, therapy, and mobility technologies for adults with disabilities*
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$136B+
INFANT & 

CHILD CARE
Investment areas
  • New parent tech  (feeding tech, baby toys, gadgets, expert support, and content)
  • Direct supervision and early education, including children with disabilities
  • Products, services, and technology to support care for adolescents*
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EMERGING 
SECTORS
SUPPORT FOR
CAREGIVERS*
Investment areas
  • Productivity in planning care for unpaid caregivers
  • Improving the process of planning, coordinating, and hiring care
  • Care-focused financial planning tools
  • Training & development for professional caregivers
  • Improving the well-being, health, safety, and productivity of professional caregivers
  • Solutions for running care businesses
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*  Unsized market segments

ADJACENT MARKETS WITH CARE SUBCATEGORIES
GROCERY, TAKEOUT, & DELIVERY
Investment areas
  • Grocery & food delivery to offset workload of caregivers
  • Planning, organizing, and procurement of meals & ingredients (e.g. meal kits)
K-12 EDUCATION
Investment areas
  • Coordination of school-related activities, communication, & curriculum outside of school (e.g. supervision during homework, tutoring)
  • Coordination and sourcing of afterschool activities (e.g. activity apps, club & camp navigation aids)
HEALTHCARE
Investment areas
  • Healthcare that happens outside a clinical setting
  • Healthcare experiences provided by the caregiver (e.g. take-home prescriptions)
  • Coordinating, organizing, and navigating the healthcare system
TRANSPORT
Investment areas
  • Ride arrangement for dependents (e.g. children, older adults) on behalf of caregivers
DOWNLOAD THIS GRAPHIC
This Care Economy Overview Map is based on a report that investigates the expanding market opportunity in the care market.
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT