What does the American Time Use Survey measure?

It measures how many hours per day people aged 15 and over spend on each activity — paid work, household activities, caring for others, leisure and sports, and personal care including sleep.

Who runs the survey and how often is it published?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes it annually, with the series on this page running from 2003.

Do the activity hours add up to 24?

Yes. Every respondent's diary day is allocated across activity categories, so the totals for all persons sum to 24 hours.

Why do economists use time use data?

Because unpaid household work and care do not appear in GDP. Time use data measures that work directly and shows how it shifts between paid and unpaid activity over the cycle.

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US Time Use: Hours per Day by Activity

Name: US Time Use: Hours per Day by Activity
Creator: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - American Time Use Survey
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

How the average American aged fifteen and over spends the twenty-four hours of a day, from the American Time Use Survey: paid work, household activities, caring for household members, eating and drinking, sleeping, leisure and sport, and the same breakdown separately for men and for women — the only official measure of unpaid work.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - American Time Use SurveyLast updated: Sep 23, 2026, 18:30Curated by Bui Thanh PhucAbout this data ↓

Indicator	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
All persons aged 15 and over - all activities (24 hours)12
All persons aged 15 and over - personal care activities	9.8	9.8	9.84	9.78	9.7	9.62	9.58	9.59	9.58	9.64	9.58	9.54	9.49	9.49	9.47	9.45	9.39	9.33	9.41	9.43	9.33	9.34
All persons aged 15 and over - working and work-related activities	3.32	3.43	3.56	3.5	3.5	3.61	3.57	3.59	3.61	3.53	3.59	3.46	3.53	3.57	3.5	3.53	3.73	3.81	3.75	3.7	3.66	3.69
All persons aged 15 and over - leisure and sports	5.16	5.07	5.15	5.2	5.27	5.19	5.27	5.24	5.13	5.21	5.3	5.26	5.37	5.21	5.18	5.25	5.18	5.11	5.09	5.13	5.19	5.11
All persons aged 15 and over - household activities	1.99	2.01	1.92	1.89	1.95	1.78	1.78	1.81	1.82	1.84	1.77	1.78	1.74	1.77	1.79	1.8	1.73	1.84	1.79	1.83	1.81	1.83
All persons aged 15 and over - caring for and helping household members	0.49	0.51	0.5	0.48	0.47	0.49	0.51	0.52	0.52	0.51	0.54	0.53	0.51	0.51	0.51	0.54	0.53	0.53	0.53	0.54	0.56	0.56
All persons aged 15 and over - caring for and helping nonhousehold members	0.15	0.17	0.17	0.18	0.18	0.19	0.21	0.18	0.21	0.19	0.18	0.19	0.18	0.21	0.21	0.21	0.23	0.2	0.21	0.24	0.27	0.28
All persons aged 15 and over - educational activities	0.44	0.42	0.39	0.44	0.43	0.46	0.46	0.48	0.49	0.46	0.42	0.48	0.5	0.47	0.47	0.46	0.47	0.43	0.49	0.43	0.48	0.47
All persons aged 15 and over - purchasing goods and services	0.69	0.67	0.66	0.66	0.68	0.75	0.72	0.72	0.76	0.75	0.74	0.75	0.72	0.72	0.75	0.76	0.77	0.78	0.81	0.8	0.82	0.81
All persons aged 15 and over - eating and drinking	1.21	1.24	1.2	1.23	1.19	1.18	1.19	1.18	1.17	1.18	1.17	1.23	1.25	1.24	1.25	1.22	1.23	1.24	1.23	1.24	1.24	1.21
All persons aged 15 and over - organizational, civic, and religious activities	0.28	0.3	0.24	0.26	0.23	0.3	0.3	0.33	0.32	0.33	0.32	0.32	0.32	0.35	0.35	0.34	0.33	0.35	0.3	0.31	0.31	0.32
All persons aged 15 and over - telephone calls, mail, and e-mail	0.19	0.18	0.16	0.17	0.21	0.16	0.15	0.15	0.16	0.16	0.14	0.15	0.16	0.16	0.18	0.2	0.21	0.19	0.19	0.18	0.18	0.19
All persons aged 15 and over - other activities, not elsewhere classified (includes misc. travel and data codes)	0.27	0.21	0.21	0.21	0.2	0.28	0.26	0.2	0.22	0.19	0.23	0.31	0.24	0.29	0.35	0.24	0.2	0.2	0.21	0.17	0.14	0.19
BY SEX2
Men12
Men - personal care activities	9.59	9.58	9.59	9.54	9.51	9.41	9.35	9.35	9.34	9.43	9.32	9.31	9.22	9.25	9.25	9.25	9.22	9.14	9.21	9.22	9.13	9.13
Men - working and work-related activities	3.82	3.92	4.17	4.12	4.18	4.36	4.16	4.32	4.39	4.18	4.29	4.2	4.17	4.23	4.09	4.26	4.52	4.52	4.53	4.44	4.41	4.56
Men - leisure and sports	5.58	5.48	5.56	5.58	5.61	5.53	5.69	5.53	5.51	5.58	5.71	5.61	5.79	5.55	5.57	5.59	5.52	5.48	5.47	5.49	5.56	5.42
Men - household activities	1.58	1.67	1.49	1.51	1.54	1.39	1.36	1.41	1.38	1.43	1.38	1.34	1.29	1.37	1.42	1.33	1.3	1.43	1.33	1.35	1.33	1.33
Men - caring for and helping household members	0.36	0.38	0.38	0.31	0.32	0.32	0.32	0.36	0.34	0.31	0.35	0.36	0.35	0.33	0.33	0.37	0.36	0.33	0.33	0.34	0.36	0.35
Men - caring for and helping nonhousehold members	0.14	0.14	0.15	0.13	0.13	0.16	0.19	0.15	0.19	0.16	0.15	0.17	0.16	0.19	0.19	0.19	0.18	0.17	0.18	0.22	0.25	0.25
Men - educational activities	0.41	0.41	0.36	0.41	0.4	0.43	0.49	0.52	0.45	0.48	0.4	0.47	0.53	0.49	0.47	0.43	0.42	0.41	0.45	0.45	0.48	0.44
Men - purchasing goods and services	0.61	0.59	0.55	0.6	0.57	0.61	0.61	0.6	0.63	0.6	0.6	0.63	0.6	0.62	0.62	0.64	0.6	0.63	0.64	0.63	0.66	0.69
Men - eating and drinking	1.24	1.26	1.22	1.25	1.2	1.19	1.23	1.22	1.19	1.24	1.21	1.26	1.3	1.27	1.29	1.26	1.28	1.27	1.25	1.3	1.31	1.24
Men - organizational, civic, and religious activities	0.25	0.25	0.2	0.23	0.22	0.25	0.26	0.26	0.29	0.29	0.27	0.29	0.26	0.3	0.3	0.32	0.3	0.28	0.29	0.27	0.27	0.29
Men - telephone calls, mail, and e-mail	0.13	0.13	0.13	0.12	0.13	0.12	0.09	0.11	0.12	0.12	0.1	0.1	0.11	0.11	0.13	0.14	0.14	0.13	0.12	0.12	0.11	0.13
Men - other activities, not elsewhere classified (includes misc. travel and data codes)	0.28	0.18	0.19	0.2	0.18	0.23	0.24	0.18	0.18	0.19	0.22	0.27	0.23	0.29	0.33	0.23	0.17	0.2	0.2	0.16	0.14	0.18
Women12
Women - personal care activities	10	10	10.07	10.02	9.88	9.83	9.78	9.81	9.8	9.85	9.82	9.76	9.74	9.72	9.67	9.63	9.55	9.51	9.59	9.63	9.52	9.53
Women - working and work-related activities	2.84	2.95	2.98	2.9	2.86	2.91	3.02	2.89	2.88	2.92	2.94	2.77	2.94	2.95	2.94	2.85	2.99	3.14	3.02	3	2.96	2.89
Women - leisure and sports	4.76	4.67	4.76	4.84	4.94	4.86	4.87	4.98	4.77	4.86	4.93	4.94	4.97	4.89	4.82	4.93	4.86	4.76	4.72	4.79	4.84	4.82
Women - household activities	2.38	2.34	2.32	2.26	2.33	2.16	2.17	2.19	2.24	2.23	2.14	2.19	2.17	2.16	2.14	2.24	2.13	2.22	2.23	2.27	2.26	2.29
Women - caring for and helping household members	0.61	0.63	0.62	0.64	0.62	0.65	0.7	0.68	0.69	0.7	0.72	0.69	0.66	0.67	0.67	0.7	0.7	0.72	0.71	0.73	0.76	0.75
Women - caring for and helping nonhousehold members	0.16	0.19	0.19	0.22	0.23	0.21	0.24	0.22	0.23	0.21	0.21	0.22	0.2	0.22	0.23	0.22	0.27	0.23	0.24	0.25	0.3	0.31
Women - educational activities	0.47	0.43	0.42	0.46	0.46	0.49	0.43	0.45	0.53	0.45	0.44	0.48	0.47	0.45	0.48	0.5	0.52	0.44	0.53	0.42	0.48	0.49
Women - purchasing goods and services	0.77	0.75	0.76	0.72	0.78	0.87	0.82	0.83	0.89	0.88	0.87	0.86	0.84	0.82	0.86	0.88	0.92	0.92	0.96	0.96	0.97	0.93
Women - eating and drinking	1.18	1.21	1.18	1.22	1.17	1.17	1.15	1.14	1.16	1.13	1.14	1.2	1.2	1.21	1.21	1.19	1.18	1.2	1.22	1.19	1.18	1.18
Women - organizational, civic, and religious activities	0.31	0.36	0.28	0.29	0.23	0.35	0.35	0.39	0.36	0.37	0.37	0.36	0.38	0.4	0.4	0.36	0.37	0.41	0.31	0.35	0.34	0.35
Women - telephone calls, mail, and e-mail	0.25	0.22	0.2	0.21	0.28	0.19	0.2	0.19	0.19	0.2	0.19	0.19	0.2	0.2	0.21	0.25	0.28	0.24	0.26	0.23	0.24	0.24
Women - other activities, not elsewhere classified (includes misc. travel and data codes)	0.27	0.23	0.22	0.22	0.22	0.31	0.28	0.22	0.27	0.2	0.24	0.35	0.25	0.3	0.36	0.26	0.24	0.19	0.22	0.18	0.15	0.2

Latest reading

The latest reading is 3.32 Hours per day, for 2025. That is −3.2% from 2024. The series on this page is annual and runs from 2003 to 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - American Time Use Survey.

Latest: 3.32 Hours per day; 2025
vs previous period: −3.2%; 2024

About this data

Frequently asked questions

What does the American Time Use Survey measure?: It measures how many hours per day people aged 15 and over spend on each activity — paid work, household activities, caring for others, leisure and sports, and personal care including sleep.
Who runs the survey and how often is it published?: The US Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes it annually, with the series on this page running from 2003.
Do the activity hours add up to 24?: Yes. Every respondent's diary day is allocated across activity categories, so the totals for all persons sum to 24 hours.
Why do economists use time use data?: Because unpaid household work and care do not appear in GDP. Time use data measures that work directly and shows how it shifts between paid and unpaid activity over the cycle.