America's Invisible Care Infrastructure: Distance Drives Intergenerational Family Support
Nearly half of American grandchildren live within 10 miles of a grandparent, creating an invisible care infrastructure that shapes family economics and wellbeing across three generations
These ultra-close living arrangements drive a massive, unmeasured exchange of time and support that particularly benefits lower-income families. A new study from Cornell's Rachel Dunifon and Elon University's Olivia Healy published in Demographic Research (June 2025) analyzes 1,951 households and reveals proximity creates a two-way street of assistance that traditional economic measures miss entirely. The findings on "Grandchildren's spatial proximity to grandparents and intergenerational support in the United States" have major implications for housing policy, childcare infrastructure, and elder care.
About the study: The researchers analyzed 2013 Panel Study of Income Dynamics data, tracking distances between 2,032 grandparent-grandchild pairs down to census blocks (0.03 square miles). Prior studies grouped families within 25-30 mile ranges, missing critical variation.
By the numbers:
47% of grandchildren live within 10 miles of a grandparent
34% live within 5 miles
13% live within just 1 mile (walking distance)
13% live 500+ miles away (the same share as those within 1 mile)
208 hours per year: median time grandparents provide to families living within 1 mile
128 hours per year: median time those families give back to grandparents
$800-900 median annual financial support from grandparents (varies by distance)
$400-800 median annual financial support to grandparents
The proximity breakdown:
Less than 1 mile: 13%
1-5 miles: 21%
5-10 miles: 13%
10-30 miles: 17%
30-100 miles: 10%
100-500 miles: 13%
500+ miles: 13%
Who lives closest:
Education matters most
Within 1 mile: 39% have high school or less, 26% have college degree
500+ miles away: 20% have high school or less, 51% have college degree
Middle distances show gradual shifts between these extremes
Family structure indicators
Single mothers: 31% of those within 1 mile vs. 20% at 500+ miles
Household income: $63,923 average within 1 mile vs. $138,144 at 500+ miles
Full-time dual earners: 49% within 1 mile vs. 44% at 500+ miles
Maternal grandparents: 63% of ultra-close families vs. 51% at long distances
Demographics that don't predict distance
Mother's age (36-39 across all distances)
Number of children (1.92-2.05 across distances)
Presence of young children under 5 (35-47% across distances)
Rural residence (16-29% with no clear pattern)
Race/ethnicity (some variation but no strong gradient)
Time transfer patterns (% providing any help):
Grandparents helping adult children/grandchildren:
Within 1 mile: 61% help, median 208 hours/year
1-5 miles: 55% help, median 186 hours/year
5-10 miles: 51% help, median 120 hours/year
10-30 miles: 54% help, median 100 hours/year
30-100 miles: 46% help, median 100 hours/year
100-500 miles: 40% help, median 80 hours/year
500+ miles: 35% help, median 80 hours/year
Adult children helping grandparents:
Within 1 mile: 62% help, median 128 hours/year
1-5 miles: 52% help, median 104 hours/year
5-10 miles: 45% help, median 60 hours/year
10-30 miles: 51% help, median 55 hours/year
30-100 miles: 37% help, median 60 hours/year
100-500 miles: 32% help, median 60 hours/year
500+ miles: 27% help, median 48 hours/year
Money transfer patterns:
From grandparents (% receiving):
Stays remarkably flat: 21-28% across all distances
Median amounts: $500-1,100 for most distances
Exception: $2,000 at 500+ miles
To grandparents (% giving):
Within 1 mile: 25% give money
All other distances: 11-18% give money
Median amounts: $400-1,000 when transfers occur
Key research findings:
Distance drives time, not money: Statistical F-tests confirm time transfers vary significantly by distance (p<0.001) while monetary transfers show no consistent pattern except at extremes
Grandparents give more than they get: Across all distances, hours given by grandparents exceed hours received; money flows predominantly downward from older to younger generations
Ultra-close matters: Families within 1 mile exchange help at dramatically higher rates than those even 5 miles away, suggesting these arrangements create qualitatively different family systems
Patterns persist after controls: Relationships hold even when accounting for education and marital status differences
Prior estimates outdated: Last comprehensive proximity data came from the 1990s; current patterns show persistence of close intergenerational living
Study limitations:
Analysis captures only grandparents included in core PSID survey (typically one set per family)
26% of sample households report on multiple grandparent sets
Excludes 187 households where grandparents live with grandchildren
Cannot determine causation: families may move closer in anticipation of births or care needs
2013 data may not reflect post-pandemic patterns
Context: This study updates decades-old estimates. Prior work focused on all adult children regardless of grandchildren presence. Evidence shows 50% of preschoolers, 35% of elementary-aged children, and 20% of teens see grandparents weekly, suggesting proximity enables regular contact.
Dave’s Thoughts: We seen other studies remarked on the role of grandparents and birth rates: Israeli research shows grandparental death reduces couples' likelihood of having another child, while Spanish data finds grandparent childcare boosts women's fertility intentions by 8.2 percentage points. We might be seeing a chicken or an egg situation where grandparents might be a bigger factor in having kids, or that having kids Is the reason families live closer to grandparents
Bottomline: The 13% of families living within walking distance of grandparents aren't just geographically close. They're economically and socially intertwined in ways that challenge assumptions about modern family independence. For lower-income families especially, grandparent proximity functions as critical infrastructure enabling workforce participation and family stability.