When do Americans do housework and chores?
On an average weekday, the share of Americans doing household tasks peaks at 5:30 PM, when 15.4% of people age 15 and older (about 38.8 million) are doing household tasks. On weekends it peaks at 10:00 AM (19.3%). Averaged over all days, Americans spend 1 hr 51 min a day doing household tasks.
See household tasks minute by minute ↗
Household tasks by hour
Share and number of Americans doing household tasks at the top of each hour.
| Time | Weekdays | People | Weekends | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 AM | 0.7% | 1.8 million | 0.8% | 2.0 million |
| 1 AM | 0.4% | 963,000 | 0.4% | 1.0 million |
| 2 AM | 0.3% | 791,000 | 0.3% | 748,000 |
| 3 AM | 0.3% | 809,000 | 0.3% | 821,000 |
| 4 AM | 1.0% | 2.6 million | 0.7% | 1.8 million |
| 5 AM | 2.1% | 5.2 million | 1.3% | 3.2 million |
| 6 AM | 5.1% | 12.8 million | 3.6% | 9.0 million |
| 7 AM | 8.3% | 20.8 million | 8.4% | 21.1 million |
| 8 AM | 10.1% | 25.3 million | 13.9% | 35.0 million |
| 9 AM | 11.8% | 29.7 million | 17.7% | 44.6 million |
| 10 AM | 12.4% | 31.1 million | 19.3% | 48.5 million |
| 11 AM | 12.1% | 30.4 million | 19.1% | 48.1 million |
| 12 PM | 11.3% | 28.4 million | 17.9% | 45.1 million |
| 1 PM | 10.5% | 26.5 million | 16.8% | 42.2 million |
| 2 PM | 10.4% | 26.1 million | 15.9% | 39.9 million |
| 3 PM | 10.7% | 27.0 million | 15.3% | 38.6 million |
| 4 PM | 12.4% | 31.1 million | 15.5% | 39.0 million |
| 5 PM | 14.9% | 37.6 million | 15.8% | 39.8 million |
| 6 PM | 15.0% | 37.7 million | 14.2% | 35.6 million |
| 7 PM | 11.7% | 29.4 million | 10.7% | 26.9 million |
| 8 PM | 8.1% | 20.2 million | 7.7% | 19.3 million |
| 9 PM | 5.6% | 14.1 million | 5.1% | 12.9 million |
| 10 PM | 3.4% | 8.6 million | 3.2% | 8.1 million |
| 11 PM | 1.6% | 4.0 million | 1.7% | 4.2 million |
What it includes
Average time per weekday, for the activities in this group that take the most time.
- Food and drink preparation: 26 min a day
- Interior cleaning: 19 min a day
- Lawn, garden, and houseplant care: 10 min a day
- Laundry: 9 min a day
- Kitchen and food clean-up: 8 min a day
- Care for animals and pets (not veterinary care): 7 min a day
- Household & personal organization and planning: 6 min a day
- Interior arrangement, decoration, & repairs: 3 min a day
More
- When do Americans sleep?
- When do Americans work?
- When do Americans relax and socialize?
- When do Americans eat?
- When are Americans driving?
- When do Americans care for children and others?
- When do Americans shower, groom, and get ready?
- When do Americans study and go to class?
- When do Americans go shopping?
- When do Americans exercise?
- When are Americans on the move (not driving)?
- When do Americans attend religious services?
- When do Americans volunteer?
- When do Americans do civic duties?
- When do Americans make calls and send messages?
About these numbers
Estimates come from all 258,954 diaries in the American Time Use Survey (Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau), 2003–2025, weighted to the U.S. civilian population age 15 and older and pooled across years. Times are local clock time. Counts are people on an average day of that type, not a live count. Weekdays are Monday–Friday. How the estimates work.