Home cooking in the United States includes much more than making a meal from raw ingredients. Recent statistics cover preparation and cleanup time, eating at home, scratch cooking, leftovers, reheating, hygiene, storage, and confidence. Together, they show how cooking skills fit into everyday routines and where practical safety habits remain uneven.
Contents
- How much time people spend preparing food at home
- Work arrangements and home-food routines
- Scratch cooking, batch cooking and cost-saving behavior
- Cooking, reheating and doneness practices
- Food storage, hygiene and kitchen-safety skills
- Cooking confidence and attitudes among U.S. adults
How much time people spend preparing food at home
The American Time Use Survey reports that U.S. people aged 15 and over spent an average of 0.67 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup in 2024. About 63.1% did food preparation or cleanup on an average day, and those who participated spent 1.06 hours on the activity. The measure includes food and drink preparation, food presentation, kitchen and food cleanup, grocery shopping, and related travel, so it is broader than cooking alone. American Time Use Survey News Release - 2024 A01 Results
Weekdays and weekends show a modest difference in average time. On 2024 weekdays, food preparation and cleanup averaged 0.65 hours per person per day. About 63.8% of people did the activity on an average weekday, and weekday participants spent 1.02 hours on it. On weekends and holidays, the average was 0.70 hours per person per day; 61.5% participated, and participants spent 1.14 hours on average. These figures describe the 2024 U.S. population aged 15 and over, not a cooking-only subset. American Time Use Survey News Release - 2024 A01 Results
| 2024 measure | Average for everyone | Participation | Average among participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| All days | 0.67 hours | 63.1% | 1.06 hours |
| Weekdays | 0.65 hours | 63.8% | 1.02 hours |
| Weekends and holidays | 0.70 hours | 61.5% | 1.14 hours |
There was also a gender difference in the 2024 ATUS measure. Men averaged 0.46 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup, with 54.2% participating; male participants averaged 0.86 hours. Women averaged 0.86 hours per day, with 71.6% participating. Women who participated therefore accounted for more time on average under this broad preparation-and-cleanup definition. American Time Use Survey News Release - 2024 A01 Results
Work arrangements and home-food routines
Earlier USDA analysis provides a more specific view of working-age routines. Among U.S. prime-working-age adults, 64% engaged in food-preparation activities on an average weekday in 2017–18. They spent an average of 31 minutes per weekday on those activities. The period predates later changes in work patterns, so it should not be treated as a current estimate. Working From Home Leads to More Time Spent Preparing Food, Eating at Home
Work location was associated with both participation and time. Adults working from home were more likely to prepare food than adults working away from home: 75% versus 63%. Those working from home spent 41 minutes per weekday on food preparation, compared with 30 minutes among those working away from home. The USDA figures describe prime-working-age adults on weekdays in 2017–18. Working From Home Leads to More Time Spent Preparing Food, Eating at Home
Eating at home followed a similar pattern in the same analysis. About 78% of prime-working-age adults ate at home on an average weekday. The figure was 89% for adults working from home and 77% for adults working away from home. Adults working from home spent 49 minutes eating at home on an average weekday, compared with 27 minutes for those working away from home. These results describe reported behavior in 2017–18 rather than a forecast or a 2024–2026 measurement. Working From Home Leads to More Time Spent Preparing Food, Eating at Home
For a more recent location breakdown, U.S. people aged 15 and over spent 76.3% of primary eating-and-drinking time at their own home or yard in 2023. Workplaces accounted for 10.1%, while restaurants or bars accounted for 6.9%. The categories refer to primary eating-and-drinking time, not every food-related activity. Working From Home Leads to More Time Spent Preparing Food, Eating at Home
Scratch cooking, batch cooking and cost-saving behavior
Food and cooking routines also changed across the Food Standards Agency’s tracking waves. The share reporting scratch cooking daily or most days was 62% in Wave 3, covering November 2020 to January 2021. It was 59% in Wave 4, covering October 2021 to January 2022. These are self-reported survey results, and the periods should be read as separate measurements rather than a continuous estimate. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
Financial pressure was one reported reason for changing cooking behavior. In Wave 6, covering October 2022 to January 2023, 25% said they cooked from scratch more for financial reasons. The share was 27% in Wave 9, covering April to July 2024. Across the Consumer Insights Tracker, 34%–41% reported scratch cooking instead of buying ready-made food to save money between August 2023 and March 2025. The FSA cautions that Consumer Insights Tracker and Food and You 2 methods are not comparable. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
Batch cooking and leftovers also appeared in cost-saving responses. Twenty-nine percent reported preparing more leftovers or cooking in batches for financial reasons in Wave 6. The share rose to 33% in Wave 7, covering April to July 2023, and was 26% in Wave 9, covering April to July 2024. Changes in cooking time or temperature for financial reasons were less common: 2% in Wave 6, 4% in Wave 7, and 2% in Wave 9. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
| Reported behavior | Earlier measurement | Later measurement |
|---|---|---|
| Scratch cooking daily or most days | 62% in Wave 3 | 59% in Wave 4 |
| Scratch cooking more for financial reasons | 25% in Wave 6 | 27% in Wave 9 |
| More leftovers or batch cooking for financial reasons | 29% in Wave 6 | 26% in Wave 9 |
Cooking, reheating and doneness practices
The FSA tracking data records several practical decisions that are part of everyday cooking skill. The share saying they always cooked food until steaming hot and cooked through rose from 76% in Wave 1 to 79% in Wave 10. Wave 1 covered July 2020, while Wave 10 covered October 2024 to February 2025. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
Reheating responses were relatively high but varied by wave. Eighty-three percent said they would reheat food only once in Wave 1, covering July to October 2020. The figure was 81% in Wave 10, covering October 2024 to February 2025. Across the tracking waves from 2020 to 2025, 79%–83% said they would consider reheating food only once. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
Answers about pink meat differed by food. The share saying they never ate chicken or turkey when pink or showing pink or red juices fell from 94% in Wave 1 to 87% in Wave 10. For pink sausages, the corresponding figures were 96% in Wave 1 and 94% in Wave 9. For pink whole cuts of pork or pork chops, they were 93% and 91%. For pink beef burgers, the share was 70% in Waves 1 and 5, then 66% in Wave 9. These are self-reported responses, not observed cooking temperatures. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
Washing raw chicken was another tracked practice. Thirty-nine percent reported that they had ever washed raw chicken at least occasionally in both Wave 5, covering April 2022, and Wave 10, covering October 2024 to February 2025. The repeated percentage does not establish whether individual people kept the same habit throughout the period. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
Food storage, hygiene and kitchen-safety skills
Handwashing responses changed over the early tracking period. The share reporting handwashing for at least 20 seconds fell from 63% in July 2020 to 55% in January 2022. These percentages describe reported behavior, not direct observation. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
The Kitchen Life 2 observation base offers a different kind of evidence. Of 140 observed meal occasions involving meat, fish, or poultry chopping boards, 20% saw the board washed with detergent during the meal. Another 20% saw the board washed with water only. In 14% of the 140 occasions, no kitchen item was washed within 45 minutes of the meal beginning. Because these are observations of a specified sample, they should not be presented as a population-wide percentage. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
Fridge knowledge and checking practices were also tracked. The fridge-temperature-check measure was 59% in Wave 1 and 60% in Wave 10. The share identifying 0–5°C as the correct fridge-temperature range was 62% in Wave 1 and 60% in Wave 10. The two measures are not identical: one concerns checking, while the other concerns identifying the range. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
Leftover storage and defrosting answers show additional room for careful routines. The share putting leftovers in the fridge or freezer within one to two hours of cooking was 41% in Wave 1 and 42% in Wave 9. The share typically defrosting meat or fish at room temperature was 45% in Wave 5 and 41% in Wave 9. Meanwhile, the share always checking use-by dates before cooking or preparing food increased from 63% in Wave 1 to 65% in Wave 10. Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025
Cooking confidence and attitudes among U.S. adults
A nationally representative survey of U.S. adults conducted in April 2015 examined how people define cooking and how those definitions relate to confidence. The findings are adjusted associations, not causal effects. People who perceived convenience foods as cooking had lower confidence in cooking from scratch, with an odds ratio of 0.52. The same perception was associated with lower confidence in following a recipe, an odds ratio of 0.72, and lower confidence in cooking a healthy meal, an odds ratio of 0.67. It was also associated with lower odds of enjoying cooking, an odds ratio of 0.68. Public perceptions of cooking and the implications for cooking behaviour in the USA
The opposite pattern appeared among people who perceived scratch ingredients as cooking. That perception was associated with higher confidence in cooking from scratch, with an odds ratio of 4.27. It was associated with higher confidence in cooking a healthy meal, an odds ratio of 3.74, and higher odds of enjoying cooking, an odds ratio of 2.91. These estimates describe relationships in the April 2015 survey and do not prove that one definition caused the other outcome. Public perceptions of cooking and the implications for cooking behaviour in the USA
Cooking frequency also differed by definition. People defining cooking as scratch ingredients only reported cooking dinner 4.31 times per week, compared with 4.81 times among those who also included convenience foods or no-heat cooking. People with the broadest cooking definition used packaged or boxed products 1.80 times per week, versus 0.95 times for those defining cooking as scratch ingredients only. The study’s results therefore suggest that statistics about “cooking” depend strongly on what respondents count as cooking. Public perceptions of cooking and the implications for cooking behaviour in the USA