What are Americans doing at 12 PM?
At 12 PM on an average weekday, 29.1% of Americans age 15 and older are working, 15.9% are eating or drinking, and 13.6% are relaxing or socializing. 6.9% (about 17.3 million) are driving.
Explore 12 PM by age, work, income, and more ↗
Everything Americans are doing at 12 PM
| Activity | Weekdays | People | Weekends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working | 29.1% | 73.1 million | 8.2% |
| Eating & drinking | 15.9% | 40.1 million | 10.9% |
| Leisure & socializing | 13.6% | 34.1 million | 23.3% |
| Household tasks | 11.3% | 28.4 million | 17.9% |
| Driving | 6.9% | 17.3 million | 7.7% |
| Learning | 4.5% | 11.3 million | 1.2% |
| Shopping & services | 3.9% | 9.7 million | 5.5% |
| Sleeping | 3.4% | 8.5 million | 4.0% |
| Other travel | 2.8% | 6.9 million | 4.5% |
| Caring for others | 2.5% | 6.2 million | 3.6% |
| Personal care | 2.2% | 5.6 million | 3.4% |
| Sports & exercise | 1.5% | 3.7 million | 3.0% |
| Volunteering | 0.8% | 2.0 million | 1.4% |
| Calls & messages | 0.5% | 1.2 million | 0.5% |
| Religious activities | 0.2% | 624,000 | 3.6% |
| Civic activities | <0.1% | 243,000 | <0.1% |
The ten most common activities at 12 PM on weekdays
- Work, main job: about 70.7 million people (28.1%)
- Eating and drinking: about 40.0 million people (15.9%)
- Television and movies (not religious): about 16.5 million people (6.6%)
- Taking class for degree, certification, or licensure: about 8.8 million people (3.5%)
- Sleeping: about 8.5 million people (3.4%)
- Food and drink preparation: about 7.4 million people (2.9%)
- Interior cleaning: about 6.4 million people (2.5%)
- Socializing and communicating with others: about 5.0 million people (2.0%)
- Shopping, except groceries, food and gas: about 4.5 million people (1.8%)
- Washing, dressing and grooming oneself: about 4.3 million people (1.7%)
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.