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[Chart data—TXT]
About the chartsThe American Time Use Survey collects information about the activities people do during the day and how much time they spend doing them. For example, on an average day in 2005, Americans age 15 and over slept about 8.6 hours, spent 5.1 hours doing leisure and sports activities, worked for 3.7 hours and spent 1.8 hours doing household activities. The remaining 4.7 hours were spent in a variety of other activities, including eating and drinking, attending school, and shopping. If this "average day" does not sound like a typical day in your household, it is because these numbers are for all persons in the U.S. age 15 and over, and for all days of the week combined. The information can be further analyzed by age, sex, employment status, day of the week, or presence and age of household children. Looking at information for certain groups in the population provides a more accurate picture of how each group spends its time. For example, the chart above shows how employed persons ages 25 to 54, who live in households with children, spent their time on an average workday. These individuals spent an average of 8.0 hours working, 7.6 hours sleeping, 2.6 hours doing leisure and sports activities, and 1.2 hours caring for others, including children. The following charts provide a snapshot of how people use their time. These lists are not exclusive — they only contain some of the most interesting or commonly cited statistics from the survey. |  Back to Top |
List of ATUS charts
Care of household children (by adults living in households with children)
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