Contents
- Meal preparation participation statistics in the 2025 U.S. time-use data
- Meal preparation participation statistics by sex and household children
- Meal preparation participation statistics across the day
- Meal preparation participation: how home-cooking participation changed from 2003 to 2023
- Meal preparation participation: cooking time among participants by education and sex
- Sources
Meal preparation participation statistics in the 2025 U.S. time-use data
In 2025, 65.2% of the U.S. civilian population age 15 and older engaged in food preparation and cleanup as a primary activity on an average day. This participation measure answers whether people reported the activity, while the time measures distinguish the whole population from participants only. BLS Table 1: 2025 annual averages
| 2025 measure: food preparation and cleanup | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population engaging on an average day | 65.2% | 57.9% | 72.2% |
| Average hours per day across the civilian population | 0.71 | 0.51 | 0.91 |
| Average hours per day among participants | 1.09 | 0.88 | 1.26 |
The first row is the share participating on an average day. The second row averages time across everyone in each population, including those who did not report the activity. The third row is conditional on having engaged in food preparation and cleanup. Those measures should not be read interchangeably: for example, the total-population average was 0.71 hours per day, while participants averaged 1.09 hours. BLS Table 1: 2025 annual averages
Participation was 66.2% on an average weekday and 62.9% on an average weekend day or holiday in 2025. These are daily population participation rates for the primary activity, rather than estimates of how many people cooked at least once over a longer period. BLS American Time Use Survey—2025 Results, Table 2
The BLS tables describe food preparation and cleanup as a primary activity and cover the civilian population age 15 and older unless a subgroup is specified. This gives a consistent time-use frame, but it does not count every instance of cooking as a separate task or establish why someone did or did not prepare food. BLS Table 1: 2025 annual averages
Meal preparation participation statistics by sex and household children
In the 2025 average-day data, 72.2% of women and 57.9% of men age 15 and older engaged in food preparation and cleanup. Among those participants, women averaged 1.26 hours per day and men averaged 0.88 hours. Across the full civilian populations, the corresponding averages were 0.91 hours for women and 0.51 hours for men. BLS Table 1: 2025 annual averages
Household-child figures use a different population and measure: Table 8A covers civilian adults age 18 and older and reports average primary-activity hours per day across each subgroup. It does not report the percentage participating, nor time only among those who did the activity. BLS American Time Use Survey—2025 Results, Table 8A
| Adult household group | Total hours per day | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Household child under 18 | 0.91 | 0.59 | 1.19 |
| Youngest household child under 6 | 0.95 | 0.63 | 1.23 |
For adults whose youngest household child was 6 to 17, the total average was 0.88 hours per day. Adults without household children under 18 averaged 0.66 hours. These are averages across all adults in each listed household group. They support comparison of time-use averages, not a conclusion that children caused a particular amount of cooking. BLS American Time Use Survey—2025 Results, Table 8A
The child categories describe household composition, not necessarily a respondent’s relationship to a child. “Youngest household child under 6” and “youngest household child 6 to 17” divide households by the age of their youngest child; the table’s “no household children under 18” group is a separate comparison category. BLS American Time Use Survey—2025 Results, Table 8A
Meal preparation participation statistics across the day
Time-of-day estimates show the percentage of the population age 15 and older whose primary activity was food preparation and cleanup at a specific hour. They are snapshots, not the share who prepared food at any point during the day. BLS Table A-3: 2025
In the 2025 annual averages, 2.8% were engaged in food preparation and cleanup at 6 a.m. The snapshot was 4.5% at 9 a.m. and 4.0% at 10 a.m. In the evening, 9.6% were engaged at 6 p.m., followed by 6.9% at 7 p.m. The pattern places the largest of these selected hourly readings at 6 p.m.; it does not identify all cooking times or show how long each person spent preparing food. BLS Table A-3: 2025
The corresponding 2024 evening snapshots were also 9.6% at 6 p.m. and 6.9% at 7 p.m. These matching values are limited to the two specified hours and the BLS primary-activity measure. They do not show that participation was identical throughout each day or across the full year. BLS Table A-3: 2024; BLS Table A-3: 2025
Meal preparation participation: how home-cooking participation changed from 2003 to 2023
A study analyzing American Time Use Survey data for U.S. adults examined whether respondents reported household cooking activity. Under that study’s measure, the share of men who cooked rose from 36% in 2003 to 52% in 2023. The share of women who cooked rose from 69% to 72% over the same endpoints. Study: Trends in Home Cooking among United States Adults from 2003 to 2023
| Adult group | Reporting cooking in 2003 | Reporting cooking in 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 36% | 52% |
| Women | 69% | 72% |
The study also describes annual trends from 2003 to 2023, excluding 2020 because that year was considered not representative. Its estimated mean annual increase in the percentage reporting cooking was 0.8 percentage point for men and 0.3 percentage point for women. These trend estimates summarize the specified period; the endpoint percentages above are the reported 2003 and 2023 values. Study: Trends in Home Cooking among United States Adults from 2003 to 2023
Changes were not uniform across the study’s sex-and-education subgroups. Men with a college degree or higher had an 18-percentage-point increase in cooking participation between 2003 and 2023, the largest increase among men reported in the analysis. Women with some college had a 2-percentage-point increase, the smallest increase among women; that change was not statistically significant (P=0.418). These subgroup findings should not be treated as estimates for all men or all women. Study: Trends in Home Cooking among United States Adults from 2003 to 2023
The study’s cooking measure is household activity 020200: food and drink preparation, presentation, and cleanup. That operational definition is broader in wording than the BLS table label “food preparation and cleanup,” and the study concerns adults age 18 and older. Its figures therefore provide a related long-term adult comparison, rather than a directly interchangeable continuation of the BLS age-15-and-older annual participation figures. Study: Trends in Home Cooking among United States Adults from 2003 to 2023
Meal preparation participation: cooking time among participants by education and sex
The study also reports weighted mean daily cooking time among respondents who cooked, in minutes per person per day. Overall, cookers averaged 63 minutes in 2003 and 62 minutes in 2023. For male cookers, the corresponding means were 45 and 50 minutes; for female cookers, they were 71 minutes in both years. These are participant averages, not averages for all adults. Study: Trends in Home Cooking among United States Adults from 2003 to 2023
| Education among cookers | 2003 minutes per person per day | 2023 minutes per person per day |
|---|---|---|
| Less than high school | 77 | 85 |
| High school | 65 | 64 |
| Some college | 59 | 58 |
| College or higher | 55 | 60 |
The education series shows that the reported participant averages differed by educational category in both years. For cookers with less than high-school education, the means were 77 minutes in 2003 and 85 minutes in 2023. For those with high-school education, they were 65 and 64 minutes; for some college, 59 and 58 minutes; and for college or higher, 55 and 60 minutes. The study reports these as descriptive weighted means; they do not by themselves explain the reasons for differences or establish an individual-level change. Study: Trends in Home Cooking among United States Adults from 2003 to 2023
Across the two decades, the participation and time measures tell distinct parts of the picture. The study’s share reporting cooking increased between the endpoint years for both sexes, while mean minutes among cookers were 63 in 2003 and 62 in 2023 overall. Read together, the results distinguish how many adults reported cooking from the amount of time reported by those who cooked. The BLS 2025 tables use their own age ranges and primary-activity presentation, so their daily measures provide contemporary context rather than a direct extension of the study’s adult trend series. Study: Trends in Home Cooking among United States Adults from 2003 to 2023; BLS Table 1: 2025 annual averages
Sources
- Table 1. Time spent in primary activities and percent of the civilian population engaging in each activity, averages per day by sex, 2025 annual averages
- American Time Use Survey—2025 Results
- Table A-3. Percent of the population engaging in selected activities by time of day, 2025
- Table A-3. Percent of the population engaging in selected activities by time of day, 2024
- Trends in Home Cooking among United States Adults from 2003 to 2023: Analysis of American Time Use Survey Food Preparation
- Eating and Health Module (ATUS)