US: homework nearly caught up with class time
Across people aged 15+: 7.8 versus 17.4 minutes a day in 2003; 12 versus 12.6 in 2025. Estimates include people who did neither.
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ATUS homework and research approached attending class in population-average time. This is not the average student’s timetable.
One scale: minutes per day. Published hours are multiplied by 60. No comparable full 2020 year: the chart has a gap.
- Attending class: time per day hours per day, people aged 15+
2003: 0.29
- Attending class: time per day hours per day, people aged 15+
2025: 0.21
- Homework and research: time per day hours per day, people aged 15+
2003: 0.13
- Homework and research: time per day hours per day, people aged 15+
2025: 0.2
BLS ATUS primary activity of the US civilian noninstitutional population aged 15+. Categories 060100 and 060300, all days. Published 2003 and 2025 averages.
Sample survey, source rounded to 0.01 hour. The 2025 difference is not tested for statistical significance. Population and student composition change. These series establish neither study location, a shift online, nor causes.
A question for this picture
Does this balance hold among students of the same age?