american minute.

What are Americans doing at 3 PM?

At 3 PM on an average weekday, 35.1% of Americans age 15 and older are working, 19.7% are relaxing or socializing, and 10.7% are doing household tasks. 7.4% (about 18.6 million) are driving.

Explore 3 PM by age, work, income, and more ↗

Everything Americans are doing at 3 PM

ActivityWeekdaysPeopleWeekends
Working35.1%88.2 million8.1%
Leisure & socializing19.7%49.6 million35.7%
Household tasks10.7%27.0 million15.3%
Driving7.4%18.6 million6.6%
Sleeping3.8%9.5 million5.2%
Caring for others3.7%9.4 million3.8%
Shopping & services3.7%9.3 million5.3%
Other travel3.2%8.0 million4.0%
Learning3.0%7.7 million1.4%
Eating & drinking2.9%7.4 million4.9%
Personal care2.0%4.9 million2.6%
Sports & exercise1.9%4.7 million3.4%
Volunteering0.7%1.8 million0.9%
Calls & messages0.7%1.8 million0.7%
Religious activities0.2%444,0000.7%
Civic activities<0.1%148,000<0.1%

The ten most common activities at 3 PM on weekdays

  1. Work, main job: about 85.8 million people (34.1%)
  2. Television and movies (not religious): about 23.0 million people (9.1%)
  3. Sleeping: about 9.5 million people (3.8%)
  4. Socializing and communicating with others: about 7.8 million people (3.1%)
  5. Eating and drinking: about 7.4 million people (2.9%)
  6. Relaxing, thinking: about 6.8 million people (2.7%)
  7. Food and drink preparation: about 5.7 million people (2.3%)
  8. Interior cleaning: about 4.7 million people (1.9%)
  9. Taking class for degree, certification, or licensure: about 4.5 million people (1.8%)
  10. Driving · Travel related to working: about 4.5 million people (1.8%)

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.