Cooking Statistics: Time Spent Preparing Food
Published September 15, 2026 · StatsGalore
Prepared food or cleaned up on an average day [1]
On an average day in 2025, 65.2% of people age 15 and older spent some time preparing food or cleaning up afterward. Across the whole population, that activity averaged 0.71 hours a day. Among the people who actually did it on their diary day, the average was 1.09 hours. [1]
The numbers
| Group | Population average | Participated that day | Average among participants | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All people age 15+ | 0.71 hours | 65.2% | 1.09 hours | [1] |
| Men | 0.51 hours | 57.9% | 0.88 hours | [1] |
| Women | 0.91 hours | 72.2% | 1.26 hours | [1] |
Preparation and cleanup belong together
This category covers food preparation and cleanup, so it is broader than the minutes spent actively cooking at a stove. The measurement is useful for understanding the time devoted to making meals happen, rather than estimating the duration of a particular recipe.
Eating and drinking are recorded separately. Combining preparation time with eating time may be useful for a carefully defined question about meals, but the categories should first be labeled clearly. Otherwise a statement about time spent cooking can quietly become a statement about time spent preparing, eating, and cleaning.
[1]Why there are two time averages
The 0.71-hour average includes everyone, including people who did no preparation or cleanup that day. The 1.09-hour average is restricted to participants. These are different denominators, and neither is inherently more correct.
If the question is how much time this activity takes across society, use the population average. If the question is what a day with food preparation looks like for someone doing it, the participant average is the closer match. Calling the participant figure an average for all Americans would overstate the population measure.
[1]Participation and duration both matter
Women were more likely than men to report the activity on an average day, and women who participated also reported more time. Both differences contribute to the gap in the population averages.
These are descriptive comparisons between groups. They do not mean every household divides food-related tasks in the same way, and the table does not measure whether responsibilities are shared fairly. Household composition and individual schedules are not held constant in this simple comparison.
[1]What this cannot tell us about meals
The data do not directly measure the number of home-cooked meals, diet quality, spending on groceries, or cooking skill. A short preparation period can produce a meal, while a long session can prepare food for several days.
The diary records the main activity at a given time. Simultaneous activities require special care: watching a child while preparing food is not necessarily counted as two separate primary activities. The food-preparation total should not be treated as an exhaustive measure of all responsibilities happening around the kitchen.
[1]Sources & notes
BLS ATUS Table 1, 2025. All days of the week are included. Population averages, participation percentages, and participant averages use different denominators; minor arithmetic differences can result from rounding.
The 2025 ATUS did not collect diaries for September 30–November 11 during the federal shutdown. Under the existing weighting method, later fourth-quarter diaries represent the missing days as well. See the BLS collection notice before making year-to-year comparisons.
Source review: 2026-09-15. Article publication and underlying data dates are separate. How we use statistics · Suggest a correction