American Time Use Survey

Leisure and Sports

This category includes socializing, relaxing, and leisure activities and sports, exercise, and recreation activities.

Socializing, relaxing, and leisure activities include face-to-face social communication; watching television; reading; relaxing or thinking; playing games; using a computer or the Internet for personal interest; and other activities. Sports, exercise, and recreation activities include participating in—as well as attending or watching—sports, exercise, and recreational activities. Recreational activities are leisure activities that are active in nature, such as yard games like croquet or horseshoes.

For a more detailed description of this activity category, see the ATUS 2011 Technical Note.

Tables on this page:

Other sources of ATUS data

Leisure and sports on weekdays and weekend days in 2011

Time spent in leisure and sports (1) and percent of the civilian population engaging in leisure and sports, averages per day on weekdays and weekends, 2011 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, leisure and sports

 4.73 6.34 94.7 96.6 5.00 6.56

Socializing, relaxing, and leisure

 4.25 5.60 93.2 95.9 4.56 5.84

Socializing and communicating

 .55 1.05 33.3 41.0 1.66 2.56

Socializing and communicating (except social events)

 .51 .85 32.4 38.0 1.58 2.24

Attending or hosting social events

 .04 .20 1.5 5.3 2.65 3.74

Relaxing and leisure

 3.64 4.41 89.3 90.9 4.08 4.86

Watching TV

 2.57 3.19 77.6 80.1 3.31 3.98

Arts and entertainment (other than sports)

 .06 .14 1.9 5.1 2.94 2.76

Sports, exercise, and recreation

 .30 .42 19.5 19.1 1.54 2.22

Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation

 .28 .36 19.0 17.7 1.47 2.06

Attending sporting or recreational events

 .02 .06 .8 2.0 2.70 3.08

Travel related to leisure and sports

 .18 .31 30.4 39.3 .60 .80

Footnotes:
(1) All estimates refer to leisure and sports 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. In 2011, data were not collected about Christmas Day.
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 by sex on weekdays and weekends, 2011 annual averages (PDF)

For a further description of ATUS data and methodology, see the ATUS 2011 Technical Note.

Leisure and sports done by men and women in 2011

Time spent in leisure and sports (1) and percent of the civilian population engaging in leisure and sports, averages per day by sex, 2011 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, leisure and sports

 5.21 5.55 4.89 95.2 95.7 94.8 5.47 5.80 5.16

Socializing, relaxing, and leisure

 4.65 4.88 4.43 94.0 94.5 93.6 4.95 5.17 4.74

Socializing and communicating

 .70 .63 .77 35.6 32.3 38.8 1.97 1.95 1.98

Socializing and communicating (except social events)

 .61 .57 .66 34.1 31.1 36.9 1.80 1.82 1.78

Attending or hosting social events

 .09 .06 .11 2.6 1.9 3.3 3.30 3.29 3.31

Relaxing and leisure

 3.87 4.18 3.58 89.8 90.5 89.0 4.31 4.61 4.02

Watching TV

 2.75 2.99 2.53 78.3 79.7 77.0 3.51 3.75 3.28

Arts and entertainment (other than sports)

 .08 .08 .09 2.9 2.7 3.0 2.85 2.85 2.84

Sports, exercise, and recreation

 .34 .43 .25 19.4 21.2 17.7 1.74 2.04 1.40

Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation

 .30 .39 .22 18.6 20.4 16.9 1.63 1.92 1.30

Attending sporting or recreational events

 .03 .04 .03 1.1 1.3 1.0 2.90 2.95 2.83

Travel related to leisure and sports

 .22 .24 .21 33.0 33.8 32.3 .67 .70 .64

Footnotes:
(1) All estimates refer to leisure and sports 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, 2011 annual averages (PDF)

For a further description of ATUS data and methodology, see the ATUS 2011 Technical Note.

Other sources of ATUS data

ATUS news releases

ATUS tables

ATUS charts

ATUS papers and publications

Last Modified Date: June 22, 2012

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