Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Who Steps In Next? Data by State

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Disclaimer: General educational research only — not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules differ by state and by family. Talk to an estate planning attorney in your state before you act.

Estate Planning Data & Research → Grandparents Raising Grandchildren by State

Millions of grandparents aren’t just helping out. They are the ones responsible for a grandchild’s basic needs. Census data counts 2,013,641 grandparents responsible for their own grandchildren under 18, and in 771,015 of those cases no parent of the child lives in the home. For these families, the usual advice to name a guardian in a will applies a generation later: if the grandparent dies or can’t care for the child, who steps in?

This page shows grandparents raising grandchildren in every state and D.C., from the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey.

A will can state who you want to raise a grandchild, and a trust can hold what the child inherits. See how a trust and a will differ.

Downloads

State table CSV: grandparents responsible for grandchildren under 18 (ACS 2024, 50 states, D.C. and U.S.)

Cite this page URL when reusing findings. Not a substitute for official sources or professional advice.

Key findings

2,013,641 grandparents are responsible for their own grandchildren under 18 (30.7% of the 6,551,200 grandparents who live with grandchildren), according to the Census ACS 2024 1-year (table B10051).
771,015 of them are the householder or spouse with no parent of the grandchildren present, and 492,435 of those are 60 or older.
1,091,682 responsible grandparents are 60 or older.
The share responsible is highest in North Dakota (59.8%), Mississippi (51.3%), Kentucky (50.6%), West Virginia (50.0%), Wyoming (49.2%), Louisiana (47.9%). It is lowest in Hawaii (17.0%), California (19.4%), New Jersey (21.9%), Connecticut (23.0%), Massachusetts (23.6%), New York (23.6%).
The largest counts are in Texas (235,629), California (198,953), Florida (132,061), New York (89,681), Georgia (77,200).

Grandparents raising grandchildren by state

State	Grandparents living with grandchildren under 18	Responsible for them	Share responsible (%)	No parent present in home	Responsible and 60+
Alabama	107,208	48,142	44.9	23,583	27,962
Alaska	15,104	5,109	33.8	2,311	3,037
Arizona	148,557	43,697	29.4	12,221	22,379
Arkansas	67,029	30,697	45.8	14,311	14,895
California	1,023,278	198,953	19.4	45,590	116,780
Colorado	87,875	28,824	32.8	9,299	15,253
Connecticut	61,042	14,035	23.0	4,963	8,708
Delaware	22,695	8,090	35.6	3,436	5,980
District of Columbia	9,591	3,064	31.9	1,014	1,234
Florida	483,675	132,061	27.3	38,857	73,898
Georgia	247,635	77,200	31.2	30,292	40,308
Hawaii	48,438	8,245	17.0	1,778	5,239
Idaho	33,704	10,297	30.6	4,114	6,743
Illinois	213,665	63,988	29.9	22,130	32,525
Indiana	113,889	46,923	41.2	20,322	22,401
Iowa	34,676	13,935	40.2	7,540	7,752
Kansas	40,109	14,823	37.0	6,807	7,956
Kentucky	95,232	48,153	50.6	26,772	24,461
Louisiana	95,502	45,757	47.9	21,651	21,759
Maine	18,171	5,915	32.6	3,782	3,783
Maryland	137,763	38,438	27.9	13,240	20,824
Massachusetts	113,421	26,718	23.6	9,173	13,878
Michigan	149,387	49,872	33.4	22,156	28,206
Minnesota	56,694	14,269	25.2	6,360	7,766
Mississippi	71,695	36,786	51.3	14,958	18,055
Missouri	104,767	42,577	40.6	20,430	23,530
Montana	19,189	8,987	46.8	3,414	4,829
Nebraska	26,853	8,671	32.3	3,748	3,859
Nevada	75,398	18,024	23.9	6,068	10,769
New Hampshire	20,722	5,983	28.9	1,864	3,650
New Jersey	186,536	40,815	21.9	12,617	24,252
New Mexico	50,031	19,346	38.7	7,890	11,033
New York	380,471	89,681	23.6	29,738	53,963
North Carolina	195,972	74,472	38.0	35,608	38,777
North Dakota	7,461	4,458	59.8	1,859	2,447
Ohio	184,260	72,823	39.5	34,717	38,881
Oklahoma	81,030	37,101	45.8	18,118	19,285
Oregon	64,743	18,878	29.2	8,330	9,833
Pennsylvania	199,718	63,713	31.9	24,324	36,894
Rhode Island	20,693	5,549	26.8	1,614	1,842
South Carolina	108,061	40,349	37.3	18,433	22,692
South Dakota	12,071	5,369	44.5	2,950	3,837
Tennessee	152,146	66,364	43.6	32,557	31,552
Texas	704,930	235,629	33.4	81,315	116,115
Utah	58,524	14,285	24.4	4,350	8,441
Vermont	6,698	1,846	27.6	1,422	1,176
Virginia	159,175	48,293	30.3	18,407	27,259
Washington	134,548	36,325	27.0	14,509	21,267
West Virginia	36,440	18,235	50.0	9,610	10,746
Wisconsin	58,817	18,968	32.2	9,039	11,462
Wyoming	5,911	2,909	49.2	1,424	1,509

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, table B10051 (Grandparents living with own grandchildren under 18 years by responsibility for own grandchildren, presence of parent of grandchildren and age of grandparent). “Responsible” is the grandparent’s own report of being responsible for most basic needs of a grandchild in the household.

What grandparents raising grandchildren can plan for

A successor guardian. If a court already appointed the grandparent as guardian, ask the court or an attorney how a successor is named in your state. If the arrangement is informal, a parent’s will (if the parent is living) and the grandparent’s own will can both state wishes. Without any named choice, a court decides. See who would raise the kids.
Money left to a minor. A child can’t manage an inheritance directly. A trust or a custodian named under your state’s transfers-to-minors law can hold it until the child is older.
Beneficiary forms. Life insurance and retirement accounts pass by beneficiary form. Naming a minor directly can mean a court-supervised account. See money that skips the will.
Incapacity documents. A power of attorney and health care directive keep the household running if the grandparent is ill. See the incapacity gap.

Methodology

Census ACS 2024 1-year estimates, table B10051, pulled from the Census API on Oct. 14, 2026, for the 50 states, D.C. and the U.S. The universe is grandparents living with their own grandchildren under 18. “Share responsible” divides grandparents responsible for their grandchildren by all grandparents living with grandchildren. “Responsible and 60+” adds the 60-and-over groups for householders with no parent present and for other responsible grandparents. ACS figures are survey estimates with margins of error, which are larger for small states.

What this doesn’t measure. Whether a grandparent has legal custody or guardianship, whether a will names a successor, or grandparents raising grandchildren who don’t live with them.

Frequently asked questions

How many grandparents are raising grandchildren?

2,013,641 grandparents report being responsible for their own grandchildren under 18 (ACS 2024).

Which state has the highest share?

North Dakota, where 59.8% of grandparents living with grandchildren are responsible for them.

Can a grandparent name a guardian in a will?

Wills commonly state a preferred guardian for a minor, and courts usually give that wish weight, but the rules for who can nominate and how depend on the state and on whether a parent is living. Check with an attorney in your state.

Is this legal advice?

No. Talk to an estate planning attorney in your state.

Sources

Public-domain government sources only. Fetched 2026-10-14.

Data

U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, table B10051: https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs1/groups/B10051.html

Cite this data

Family Estate Guide, “Grandparents Raising Grandchildren by State,” October 2026. https://familyestateguide.com/estate-planning-data/grandparents-raising-grandchildren-by-state/

You’re welcome to reuse the table with a link back to this page. The underlying government data is public.

Published October 14, 2026 by Family Estate Guide. Data vintage: Census ACS 2024 1-year. Editorial standards.