Household Activities

Household activities are those done by persons to maintain their households. These include housework; cooking; yard care; pet care; vehicle maintenance and repair; home maintenance, repair, decoration, and renovation; and household management and organizational activities (such as filling out paperwork, balancing a checkbook, or planning a party). For a more detailed description of this activity category, see the ATUS 2007 Technical Note.

Tables on this page:

Other sources of ATUS data

Household activities on weekdays and weekend days in 2007

Time spent in household activities (1) and percent of the civilian population engaging in household activities, averages per day on weekdays and weekends, 2007 annual averages
Activity Average hours per day, civilian population Average percent engaged in the activity per day Average hours per day for persons who engaged in the activity
Weekdays Weekends and holidays (2) Weekdays Weekends and holidays (2) Weekdays Weekends and holidays (2)

Total, household activities

 1.69 2.19 74.1 75.0 2.28 2.92

Housework

 .59 .76 35.1 38.8 1.67 1.96

Food preparation and cleanup

 .49 .57 52.0 47.9 .95 1.20

Lawn and garden care

 .18 .28 9.5 12.4 1.85 2.26

Household management

 .13 .16 18.0 18.6 .73 .88

Interior maintenance, repair, and decoration

 .07 .11 3.3 4.3 2.23 2.50

Exterior maintenance, repair, and decoration

 .05 .08 2.4 3.6 2.07 2.19

Animals and pets

 .09 .10 14.5 13.4 .62 .78

Vehicles

 .03 .04 2.5 2.9 1.35 1.33

Appliances, tools, and toys

 .01 .03 1.5 1.8 .96 1.47

Travel related to household activities

 .04 .06 9.4 10.2 .44 .61

Footnotes:
(1) All estimates refer to household activities done as a main (primary) activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included.
(2) Holidays are New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Data were not collected about New Year's Day in 2007.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 15 years and over.

These and other detailed activity estimates are also available in:

Table A-2: Time spent in detailed primary activities, and percent of the civilian population engaging in each detailed primary activity category, averages per day on weekdays and weekends, 2007 annual averages (PDF)

For a further description of ATUS data and methodology, see the ATUS 2007 Technical Note.

Household activities done by men and women in 2007

Time spent in household activities (1) and percent of the civilian population engaging in household activities, averages per day by sex, 2007 annual averages
Activity Average hours per day, civilian population Average percent engaged in the activity per day Average hours per day for persons who engaged in the activity
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women

Total, household activities

 1.84 1.43 2.22 74.4 65.6 82.7 2.47 2.18 2.69

Housework

 .64 .29 .97 36.2 19.7 51.7 1.76 1.46 1.87

Food preparation and cleanup

 .52 .28 .74 50.8 37.3 63.5 1.02 .75 1.17

Lawn and garden care

 .21 .30 .12 10.3 12.9 7.9 2.00 2.32 1.51

Household management

 .14 .12 .16 18.2 15.2 21.0 .78 .82 .75

Interior maintenance, repair, and decoration

 .08 .12 .05 3.6 4.7 2.6 2.33 2.53 1.98

Exterior maintenance, repair, and decoration

 .06 .09 .03 2.8 3.7 1.8 2.12 2.42 1.56

Animals and pets

 .09 .09 .10 14.2 13.0 15.3 .67 .69 .64

Vehicles

 .04 .07 .01 2.6 4.4 1.0 1.34 1.49 .73

Appliances, tools, and toys

 .02 .03 .01 1.6 2.1 1.0 1.13 1.30 .81

Travel related to household activities

 .05 .05 .05 9.6 9.2 10.0 .49 .53 .46

Footnotes:
(1) All estimates refer to household activities done as a main (primary) activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 15 years and over.

These and other detailed activity estimates are also available in:

Table A-1. Time spent in detailed primary activities and percent of the civilian population engaging in each detailed primary activity category, averages per day by sex, 2007 annual averages (PDF)

For a further description of ATUS data and methodology, see the ATUS 2007 Technical Note.

Other sources of ATUS data

ATUS news releases:

  • NEW Married Parents' Use of Time, 2003-06 (HTML) (PDF)

ATUS tables:

  • Table A-1. Time spent in detailed primary activities, and percent of the civilian population engaging in each detailed primary activity category, averages per day by sex (PDFs) (2007) (2006)
  • Table A-2. Time spent in detailed primary activities, and percent of the civilian population engaging in each detailed primary activity category, averages per day on weekdays and weekends (PDFs) (2007) (2006)
  • Table A-3. Percent of the population engaging in selected activities by time of day (PDF) (2003-07)

Unpublished tables of time-use estimates by age, ethnicity, employment status, educational attainment, marital status, presence and age of household children, and other categories are available upon request by e-mailing the ATUS staff.

ATUS charts

ATUS papers and publications

 

Last Modified Date: June 25, 2008