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Household chores and home care statistics: 2025

How much time do people spend caring for a home? This reference page brings together the latest available U.S. figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey, with every statistic linked to its source.

Last updated October 9, 2026. Data year: 2025.

At a glance

80.9%did household activities on an average day

1.99hours a day, on average, went to household activities

16.8%were doing household activities at 6 p.m.

The numbers behind everyday care

Home care is made of many small, recurring jobs.

These figures are descriptive, not a prescription for what any household should do. They are useful for writers, researchers, and anyone looking for reliable context about the everyday work of keeping a home running.

80.9%

did household activities on an average day

That includes tasks such as housework, food preparation, lawn care, and household management among U.S. civilians age 15 and over.

View the 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics source

1.99 hours

is the average daily time spent on household activities

That is just under two hours a day across all people age 15 and over, whether or not they did a household task that day.

View the 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics source

65.2%

prepared food or cleaned up on an average day

Food preparation and cleanup was the household activity with the broadest daily participation in the survey.

View the 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics source

23.4%

did interior cleaning on an average day

The survey defines this as an average-day measure, not a weekly cleaning rate. The average time across all respondents was 0.33 hours, about 20 minutes.

View the 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics source

18.6%

handled household management on an average day

This category covers the coordination work behind a home, alongside the hands-on tasks that are easier to see.

View the 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics source

16.8%

were doing household activities at 6 p.m.

The survey’s hourly snapshot shows household activity reaching its highest reported share in the late afternoon and early evening.

View the 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics source

Methodology and sources

How to read these statistics

All figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2025 American Time Use Survey. The survey reports average daily primary activities for the civilian noninstitutional population age 15 and over. “Primary activity” means the main activity someone reported at that time, so simultaneous tasks are not counted here.

The page uses the Bureau’s published 2025 tables for participation, average hours, and time-of-day snapshots. Where this page says “about 20 minutes,” it converts the published 0.33-hour estimate for interior cleaning into minutes for readability.

Cite this page

Using a statistic in your work?

Suggested citation: Carrie’s Artful Cottage. “Household Chores & Home Care Statistics: 2025.” Updated October 9, 2026. https://carriesartfulcottage.com/home-care-statistics/

Please link to this page and the original Bureau of Labor Statistics source when you quote a figure.

For the list in your own head

One small next step can still make a difference.

When home care feels like too much to hold at once, a gentle printable can give the next task a place to land.

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