Housework statistics measure more than cleaning: they can include cooking, laundry, gardening, household management and related purchases. The figures below identify the population, period and definition for each measure, with U.S. 2024 time-use data alongside international estimates and valuation studies.
Key Housework Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In the 2024 annual average, 80.4% of the U.S. civilian population engaged in household activities on an average day.
- In 2024, U.S. people spent 2.01 hours per day on household activities, averaged across the civilian population.
- In 2024, U.S. women spent 2.34 hours per day on household activities, compared with 1.67 hours for men.
- In 2024, 87% of U.S. women engaged in household activities on an average day, compared with 74% of men.
- In 2024, 37.0% of U.S. people did housework as a primary activity on an average day.
- In 2024, U.S. women spent 0.88 hours per day on housework, compared with 0.36 hours for men.
- In 2024, 63.1% of U.S. people did food preparation or cleanup on an average day.
- In 2024, U.S. people spent 0.67 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup.
- In 2024, 9.9% of U.S. people did lawn and garden care on an average day.
- In 2024, 17.5% of U.S. people did household management on an average day.
- In 2024, 41% of U.S. people did housework on an average weekend day, compared with 36% on an average weekday.
- In 2024, employed U.S. adults with a youngest child under 6 spent 1.40 hours per day on household activities.
- In the OECD comparison using the latest available country data, women spent 158 minutes per day on non-care housework.
- In the same OECD comparison, men spent 72 minutes per day on non-care housework.
- In March 2023, UK employed women aged 18–64 spent 2 hours 37 minutes per day on unpaid household work.
- In March 2023, UK employed men aged 18–64 spent 2 hours 2 minutes per day on unpaid household work.
- In Canada, women accounted for 60.1% of unpaid household-work hours in 2015–2019.
- In Canada in 2019, women’s unpaid household work was valued at C$437,447 million using net opportunity cost.
Contents
- Housework time-use statistics in the United States
- Housework participation statistics by sex
- Cleaning, cooking and household-management data
- Housework statistics by work status, children and day
- Unpaid housework statistics across countries
- The measured value and changing scale of unpaid housework
Housework Time-Use Statistics in the United States
The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) reports primary activities recorded in time diaries. Its household-activity category is broader than housework, and simultaneous secondary activities are excluded.
For the U.S. civilian population, the 2024 annual average was 2.01 hours per day on household activities. The participation rate was 80.4%, and people who participated averaged 2.50 hours on an average day; these are different denominators, so the participant figure should not be treated as an all-person average. American Time Use Survey – 2024 A01 Results
| U.S. population, 2024 annual average | All-person time | Participation | Participant time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civilian population | 2.01 hours/day | 80.4% | 2.50 hours/day |
| Men | 1.67 hours/day | 74% | 2.26 hours/day |
| Women | 2.34 hours/day | 87% | 2.71 hours/day |
The same release shows a sex difference in both participation and duration. Men who engaged in household activities averaged 2.26 hours per day, while women who engaged averaged 2.71 hours.
Housework Statistics by Sex and Participation
Housework is narrower than the ATUS household-activities category. When the measure is limited to housework as a primary activity, 37.0% of the U.S. civilian population participated on an average day in 2024.
- 24.9% of U.S. men did housework as a primary activity on an average day in 2024.
- 48.5% of U.S. women did housework as a primary activity on an average day in 2024.
- Among people who did housework, the participant average was 1.68 hours per day in 2024.
- Men who did housework averaged 1.43 hours per day, while women who did it averaged 1.80 hours.
- Averaged across everyone, U.S. people spent 0.62 hours per day on housework in 2024; the corresponding figures were 0.36 hours for men and 0.88 hours for women.
These figures describe primary housework activity rather than every household task performed simultaneously or incidentally. They therefore should be read alongside the broader household-activities measures rather than added to them. American Time Use Survey – 2024 A01 Results
Cleaning, Cooking and Household-Management Data
Food preparation and cleanup was one of the larger named task groups in the 2024 U.S. time-use data. The all-person average was 0.67 hours per day, while participants averaged 1.06 hours.
| Primary activity, U.S. 2024 | All-person time | Participation | Participant time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food preparation and cleanup | 0.67 hours/day | 63.1% | 1.06 hours/day |
| Lawn and garden care | 0.20 hours/day | 9.9% | Not supplied |
| Household management | 0.15 hours/day | 17.5% | Not supplied |
| Purchasing goods and services | 0.67 hours/day | 39.9% | Not supplied |
| Consumer-goods purchases | 0.31 hours/day | 35.9% | Not supplied |
Food preparation or cleanup involved 54.2% of U.S. men and 71.6% of U.S. women on an average day in 2024. Participants averaged 0.86 hours for men and 1.20 hours for women.
The purchasing categories need careful interpretation. Purchasing goods and services includes purchases and household services obtained from others, while consumer-goods purchases are a component of that broader category; neither is housework alone. American Time Use Survey – 2024 A01 Results
Housework Statistics by Work Status, Children and Day
Children and employment status are associated with different household-activity averages in the U.S. 2024 data. Among adults living with children under 18, employed adults spent 1.8 hours per day on household activities, compared with 2.9 hours for non-employed adults.
For employed adults, the age of the youngest child also corresponded to different averages. Those with no children under 18 spent 1.24 hours per day on household activities, those with a youngest child under 6 spent 1.40 hours, and those whose youngest child was 6 to 12 spent 1.06 hours.
| U.S. employed adults, 2024 annual average | Household activities |
|---|---|
| No children under 18 | 1.24 hours/day |
| Youngest child under 6 | 1.40 hours/day |
| Youngest child aged 6 to 12 | 1.06 hours/day |
Day of week changes participation more modestly for food preparation than for housework. Housework participation was 36% on an average weekday and 41% on an average weekend day, while food preparation or cleanup was 64% on a weekday and 62% on a weekend day. American Time Use Survey – 2024 A01 Results
Unpaid Housework Statistics Across Countries
OECD comparisons use people aged 15–64 and each country’s latest available time-use survey, mostly from 2010–2018. The years and category groupings are not fully aligned, so these are comparative estimates rather than a single-year harmonized survey.
Across the OECD comparison, women spent 158 minutes per day on non-care housework and men spent 72 minutes. Non-care housework means cleaning, cooking, laundry and gardening in this comparison; the average gender gap was 86 minutes per day.
| OECD comparison, ages 15–64 | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Non-care housework | 158 minutes/day | 72 minutes/day |
| Share of available daily time | 11% | 5% |
The country range also matters. The non-care housework gender gap exceeded 13 percentage points in Turkey, using 2015 data, while it was as low as 2 percentage points in Sweden, using 2010 data.
These country observations are not necessarily contemporaneous. OECD, “Unpaid housework: Bringing Household Services Out of the Shadows”
The UK provides a more recent national example. In March 2023, employed women aged 18–64 spent 2 hours 37 minutes per day on unpaid household work, compared with 2 hours 2 minutes for employed men; the ONS measure is an average over a 24-hour day.
Economically inactive UK women aged 18–64 spent 3 hours 25 minutes per day on unpaid household work in March 2023, compared with 2 hours 59 minutes for economically inactive men. Unpaid household work is broader than cleaning alone. ONS, “Time Use in the UK: March 2023”
The Measured Value and Changing Scale of Unpaid Housework
Time-use studies count hours, while satellite accounts assign monetary values using methods such as replacement cost or opportunity cost. The resulting amounts are estimates and should not be combined as though alternative methods were one accounting total.
Statistics Canada’s satellite-account series reports 19,001 million hours of unpaid household work performed by women and 12,591 million hours performed by men in each year from 2015 through 2019. Women accounted for 60.1% of Canadian unpaid household-work hours in that series.
| Canada unpaid household work | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Hours in each year, 2015–2019 | 19,001 million | 12,591 million |
| Share of hours, 2015–2019 | 60.1% | Not supplied |
For 2019, women’s unpaid household work was valued at C$437,447 million using net opportunity cost and C$341,336 million using replacement cost. Men’s work was valued at C$370,414 million using gross opportunity cost; the women’s share of Canada’s total unpaid household-work value was 57.9% under the net opportunity-cost method. Statistics Canada, “Summary statistics on the value of unpaid household work by method and sex, 2015 to 2019”
The UK Household Satellite Account adds context for related unpaid services. The total value of unpaid household services increased 2% from 2019 to 2020 in current prices, while adult-care unpaid-service value rose 24% over the same period and was 81% higher in 2023 than in 2019.
These are not housework-only time measures. The same account reports that the volume of organisation-based volunteering fell 40% between 2014 and 2023, and formal-care hours per child fell 45% from 2019 to 2020 before returning to 2019 levels by 2023; both are related unpaid-service context rather than direct housework statistics. ONS, “Household Satellite Account, UK: 2023”