More than half of Americans in their 40s are ‘sandwiched’ between an aging parent and their own children

23% of U.S. adults are now part of the so-called “sandwich generation,” according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2021. These are adults who have a parent age 65 or older and are either raising at least one child younger than 18 or providing financial support to an adult child. 54% of Americans in their 40s have a living parent age 65 or older and are either raising a child younger than 18 or have an adult child they helped financially in the past year. Men and women, as well as adults across racial and ethnic groups, are about equally likely to be in the sandwich generation, but there are some differences by educational attainment, income, and marital status.