The provision of adequate and quality care to the elderly, children, and those who are ill or disabled is one of the pressing social problems of our time. Despite the far-reaching formulations of care in the theoretical realm, advocacy and policymaking efforts around care work remain largely atomized. Translating the wide-ranging insights of care scholarship into tools for public policy solutions requires a practical application of the concept as well as empirical measurement. In this study we integrate the insights of care theory with feminist economic analysis to conceptualize care as a single sector at the foundation of the state’s human infrastructure. We then measure the scope of care work across paid work, unpaid labor and government investment in one US state. We find that the care sector in Massachusetts is substantial in its scope and human and economic impact: 22 percent of the paid labor force, 20 percent of the average resident’s daily time, and 57 percent of state and local government spending. Data such as this gives policymakers and advocates an empirical foundation to build on in framing a broader vision of care policy. Strengthening the human infrastructure in Massachusetts and elsewhere is an economic and ethical imperative, and our goal has been to provide both empirical data and a practically useful conceptual frame that can be used as tools by those working towards the social transformation of care.