At a glance
Home meal preparation is still a daily habit for most Americans, but the time data shows a clear split by gender, day type, and activity definition. In 2024, the civilian population age 15+ spent 0.67 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup, while 63.1% of people did the activity on an average day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
Key takeaways
- Women spent 0.86 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup in 2024, compared with 0.46 hours for men (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
- Among people who did the activity, women averaged 1.20 hours per day and men averaged 0.86 hours per day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
- Food preparation and cleanup took slightly less time on weekdays than on weekends and holidays: 0.65 hours versus 0.70 hours (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2).
- In the broader food-and-drink-preparation measure, women again spent more time than men in 2024: 0.68 hours versus 0.38 hours per day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1).
- The long-run pattern is consistent: women spend more time on meal prep and cleanup than men across the 2020, 2021, and 2024 snapshots, and older ERS data show the same direction in earlier years (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1; BLS ATUS 2021 A01 Results; BLS ATUS 2020 pandemic release; ERS Chart of Note 2017; ERS Chart of Note 2012).
Table of contents
- What counts in these home meal preparation statistics
- 2024 snapshot
- Gender split
- Weekday versus weekend patterns
- Broader food-and-drink preparation
- How the picture changed across years
- What the older ERS figures add
- Reading the numbers carefully
What counts in these home meal preparation statistics
These figures cover related but not identical activities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses one measure for food preparation and cleanup and another for the broader category of food and drink preparation (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1; BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1).
That distinction matters because cleanup is part of the daily kitchen workload, but the broader food-and-drink category can include more than just cooking and washing dishes. If you compare sources or years, keep the category label attached to the number.
2024 snapshot
The clearest recent baseline comes from the 2024 American Time Use Survey. For the civilian population age 15+, food preparation and cleanup averaged 0.67 hours per day, which is about 40 minutes per day, while 63.1% of people did the activity on an average day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
The same table shows that among those who actually did the task, the average rose to 1.06 hours per day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1). That difference between the population average and the participant average is important. It means many people do not do the task on a given day, while those who do often spend materially more than a half hour on it.
2024 food preparation and cleanup summary
| Measure | 2024 value | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| Average time for all people age 15+ | 0.67 hours per day | BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1 |
| Share who did the activity | 63.1% | BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1 |
| Average time among participants | 1.06 hours per day | BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1 |
| Weekday average time | 0.65 hours per day | BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2 |
| Weekend/holiday average time | 0.70 hours per day | BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2 |
A practical reading of that table is straightforward: meal prep and cleanup are common enough to shape daily schedules, but not universal on any single day. The average household routine is not a single fixed block of time; it is a mix of frequent participation and variable duration (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1; BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2).
Gender split
The strongest and most consistent divide in the 2024 data is by gender. Women spent 0.86 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup, while men spent 0.46 hours per day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1). That is a gap of 0.40 hours, or 24 minutes per day.
The participation rate also differed. On an average day, 71.6% of women did food preparation and cleanup, compared with 54.2% of men (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1). So the difference is not just about duration among participants. It also reflects how often the task is done in the first place.
Where the gap shows up most clearly
- Women: 0.86 hours per day overall, 1.20 hours per day among participants, 71.6% participation (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
- Men: 0.46 hours per day overall, 0.86 hours per day among participants, 54.2% participation (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
- Gap among all people: 0.40 hours per day, or 24 minutes (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
- Gap among participants: 0.34 hours per day, or about 20 minutes (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
That means two things are happening at once. Women are more likely to do the task on a given day, and when they do, they tend to spend longer on it. The data points in the same direction on both frequency and duration (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
Weekday versus weekend patterns
The 2024 weekday and weekend figures are close, but they still show a measurable shift. Food preparation and cleanup averaged 0.65 hours per weekday and 0.70 hours per weekend/holiday day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2).
The participation rates are similarly close, though weekday participation is slightly higher at 63.8% versus 61.5% on weekends and holidays (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2). Among those who did the activity, weekday days averaged 1.02 hours and weekend/holiday days averaged 1.14 hours (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2).
Weekday versus weekend comparison
| Measure | Weekdays | Weekends and holidays | Source label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average time for all people | 0.65 hours | 0.70 hours | BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2 |
| Share who did the activity | 63.8% | 61.5% | BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2 |
| Average time among participants | 1.02 hours | 1.14 hours | BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2 |
The small weekend increase suggests that home meal preparation does not disappear on workdays. Instead, the daily rhythm shifts a little, with slightly more time per participant when the calendar opens up (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2). That is useful for anyone comparing household routines, meal planning behavior, or time-use allocation across the week.
Broader food-and-drink preparation
The broader food-and-drink-preparation category gives a second lens on the same behavior. In 2024, that measure averaged 0.53 hours per day for people age 15+, with 60.3% of people doing it on an average day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1). Among participants, the average was 0.88 hours per day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1).
Again, the gender split is visible. Men averaged 0.38 hours per day, while women averaged 0.68 hours per day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1). The participation share was 51.0% for men and 69.1% for women (BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1). Among participants, men spent 0.75 hours and women spent 0.98 hours (BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1).
The broader measure is useful because it separates the kitchen workload into subcomponents. Within it, kitchen and food cleanup averaged 0.13 hours per day overall in 2024, and food preparation made up the remaining share of the category (BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1). That cleanup slice alone still shows a noticeable gender difference: 0.08 hours for men and 0.18 hours for women (BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1).
2024 food-and-drink preparation detail
| Measure | Men | Women | Source label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average time per day | 0.38 hours | 0.68 hours | BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1 |
| Share who did the activity | 51.0% | 69.1% | BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1 |
| Average time among participants | 0.75 hours | 0.98 hours | BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1 |
| Kitchen and food cleanup time | 0.08 hours | 0.18 hours | BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1 |
| Cleanup participation rate | 14.6% | 29.8% | BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1 |
How the picture changed across years
The easiest way to read the year-over-year data is to compare the same kinds of measures across 2020, 2021, and 2024. The overall population average was 0.62 hours in 2020, 0.64 hours in 2021, and 0.67 hours in 2024 for food preparation and cleanup (BLS ATUS 2020 pandemic release; BLS ATUS 2021 A01 Results; BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
That is a modest rise over time, not a dramatic jump. The participation rate also moved from 59.0% in 2020 to 61.9% in 2021 and 63.1% in 2024 (BLS ATUS 2020 pandemic release; BLS ATUS 2021 A01 Results; BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1). For men, the average time went from 0.42 hours in 2021 to 0.46 hours in 2024, while women held steady at 0.86 hours in both years (BLS ATUS 2021 A01 Results; BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
Cross-year comparison
| Year | Average time, all people | Participation rate | Men | Women | Source label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 0.62 hours | 59.0% | Not listed in the returned statistics | 0.66 hours | BLS ATUS 2020 pandemic release |
| 2021 | 0.64 hours | 61.9% | 0.42 hours | 0.86 hours | BLS ATUS 2021 A01 Results |
| 2024 | 0.67 hours | 63.1% | 0.46 hours | 0.86 hours | BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1 |
The pattern here is more useful than any single year in isolation. Home meal preparation remains a stable daily activity, and the recent data show a gradual increase in average time and participation rather than a sharp shift (BLS ATUS 2020 pandemic release; BLS ATUS 2021 A01 Results; BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1).
What the older ERS figures add
The older Economic Research Service figures reach further back and reinforce the same basic story. In 2014, Americans age 18+ spent 37 minutes per day in food preparation and cleanup (ERS Chart of Note 2017). That year, men spent 22 minutes per day and women spent 51 minutes per day (ERS Chart of Note 2017).
The age breakdown shows a similar spread. Adults age 18-24 spent 21 minutes per day, adults age 25-64 spent 38 minutes, and adults age 65+ spent 43 minutes in meal prep including cleanup (ERS Chart of Note 2017). Participants in WIC spent 62 minutes per day (ERS Chart of Note 2017). Those numbers are not interchangeable with the ATUS tables above, but they point in the same direction: meal prep time varies by demographic group and life stage.
Even earlier, the 2006-08 ERS figures showed that 54% of Americans age 18+ prepared food and/or drinks on an average day (ERS Chart of Note 2012). That share was 39% for men and 67% for women, with men spending 46.8 minutes and women spending 69.5 minutes among those who prepared meals (ERS Chart of Note 2012). Age-group data from the same source showed 49.5 minutes for ages 18-24, 61 minutes for ages 25-64, and 68 minutes for age 65+ among people who prepared meals (ERS Chart of Note 2012).
Older ERS snapshots at a glance
| Period | Metric | Value | Source label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Americans age 18+ time in food prep and cleanup | 37 minutes per day | ERS Chart of Note 2017 |
| 2014 | Men | 22 minutes per day | ERS Chart of Note 2017 |
| 2014 | Women | 51 minutes per day | ERS Chart of Note 2017 |
| 2014 | Ages 18-24 | 21 minutes per day | ERS Chart of Note 2017 |
| 2014 | Ages 25-64 | 38 minutes per day | ERS Chart of Note 2017 |
| 2014 | Ages 65+ | 43 minutes per day | ERS Chart of Note 2017 |
| 2006-08 | Americans age 18+ who prepared food/drinks | 54% | ERS Chart of Note 2012 |
| 2006-08 | Men who prepared food/drinks | 39% | ERS Chart of Note 2012 |
| 2006-08 | Women who prepared food/drinks | 67% | ERS Chart of Note 2012 |
Reading the numbers carefully
The right way to interpret home meal preparation statistics is to keep three distinctions in view. First, distinguish between time for everyone and time among people who actually did the activity. Second, distinguish food preparation and cleanup from the broader food-and-drink-preparation category. Third, keep the source label attached to the number, because BLS ATUS and ERS figures are not the same measurement frame (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1; BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1; ERS Chart of Note 2017; ERS Chart of Note 2012).
Those distinctions prevent overreading the data. A figure like 0.67 hours per day does not mean every household spends exactly 40 minutes on cooking and cleaning. It means that across the population age 15+ in 2024, the average time allocated to food preparation and cleanup was 0.67 hours per day, with participation and duration varying by gender and day type (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1; BLS ATUS 2024 Table 2).
For searchers comparing household routines, work-from-home behavior, or time-use allocation, the main signal is stable. Home meal preparation remains common, women spend more time than men in every set of figures returned here, and the differences show up in both participation rates and average minutes per day (BLS ATUS 2024 Table 1; BLS ATUS 2024 Table A-1; BLS ATUS 2021 A01 Results; BLS ATUS 2020 pandemic release; ERS Working From Home article; ERS Chart of Note 2017; ERS Chart of Note 2012).