How Americans Spend Their Time on Weekdays vs. Weekends
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Key Takeaways
- Americans spend nearly two additional hours on leisure and sports during weekends and holidays.
- Work-related activity falls by more than three hours per day, freeing time for sleep, television, socializing, and household tasks.
- Average television viewing time rises from 2.33 hours on weekdays to 3.27 hours on weekends and holidays, adding roughly 56 minutes.
The rhythm of American life changes significantly when the workweek ends.
Weekends and holidays bring more time for rest, recreation, chores, and social connections. At the same time, work and education occupy a much smaller share of the day.
This visualization shows how Americans aged 15 and older redistribute their time between weekdays and non-workdays. The data for this visualization comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey.
Work Gives Way to Free Time
Work accounts for the largest shift in Americans’ schedules. Time spent working and on work-related activities falls from 4.26 hours per weekday to 1.11 hours on weekends and holidays, a decline of 3.15 hours, or 189 minutes.
| How Americans Spend Time | Weekday | Weekend | Change (h m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleeping | 9h 32m | 10h 26m | +0h 55m |
| Leisure & Sports | 4h 36m | 6h 29m | +1h 53m |
| Working | 4h 16m | 1h 07m | -3h 09m |
| House Chores | 1h 53m | 2h 16m | +0h 23m |
| Eating | 1h 10m | 1h 20m | +0h 10m |
| Shopping | 0h 40m | 0h 44m | +0h 04m |
| Caring for Others | 0h 41m | 0h 34m | -0h 07m |
| Education | 0h 33m | 0h 11m | -0h 22m |
| Religion | 0h 13m | 0h 27m | +0h 14m |
| Communication | 0h 12m | 0h 11m | -0h 01m |
Educational activities also decrease, falling from 0.55 hours to 0.18 hours per day.
Meanwhile, leisure and sports increase from 4.60 hours on weekdays to 6.48 hours on weekends and holidays. That represents an additional 1.88 hours, or nearly 113 minutes.
Television Absorbs Much of the Gain
Television captures the largest share of Americans’ additional leisure time. Average viewing rises from 2.33 hours on weekdays to 3.27 hours on weekends and holidays, an increase of roughly 56 minutes.
Television represents about half of total leisure time on both types of days. This suggests that Americans spend their additional free time much as they do during the workweek, only for longer.
Socializing and communicating also more than doubles, rising from 0.44 hours to 0.92 hours per day. This adds nearly 29 minutes and highlights the weekend’s role in supporting social life.
By comparison, reading changes very little, increasing by only about one minute per day.
More Sleep and More Time at Home
Personal care activities rise from 9.53 hours on weekdays to 10.44 hours on weekends and holidays. Nearly all of this increase comes from sleep, which climbs from 8.76 hours to 9.68 hours.
Household activities also increase from 1.88 hours to 2.26 hours, adding about 23 minutes.
Housework, laundry, maintenance, and other domestic tasks receive more attention, showing that weekends are not devoted entirely to rest.
Organizational, civic, and religious activities also rise, while time spent caring for household members declines slightly.
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