New Yorkers Have More Free Time Than You Might Think

New York is known as a place where people are busy. A new report, however, says New Yorkers have more free time than people in most other states. The average New Yorker has about five hours and 23 minutes of free time each day.

New York Ranks Fifth for Free Time

New York ranked fifth among the 37 states included in the report. Researchers counted the time people spent watching television, working out, relaxing and enjoying other activities. Sleep was not counted as free time.

Free Time Has Grown Since 2020

In 2020, New Yorkers had about four hours and 49 minutes of free time each day. By 2024, that number had grown to five hours and 23 minutes. That is an increase of 12%. New York had the second largest increase in free time in the country.

New Yorkers Have Fewer Daily Duties

Time spent working, doing chores and handling other duties also fell. In 2020, New Yorkers spent about five hours and eight minutes on these tasks each day. By 2024, that number had dropped to four hours and 43 minutes. That is a decrease of 8%.

More Time Is Spent Relaxing

New Yorkers are also spending more time doing little, and that may not be a bad thing. Time spent relaxing went from 23 minutes a day to 36 minutes. That is an increase of over 55%.

Television Time Is Also Up

Some of that extra free time is being spent in front of the television. New Yorkers watched about two hours and 38 minutes of television each day in 2020. By 2024, that had grown to two hours and 55 minutes. That is an increase of 11%.

New Yorkers Also Like to Exercise

Working out was one activity that stood out in New York. According to the report, exercise was more than three times as popular in New York as it was across the country. New Yorkers are not using all of their extra time to sit on the couch.

Most Americans Have Less Free Time

New York’s increase is different from what is happening in most of the country. Free time across the United States fell by 9%. Time spent driving to and from work grew by over  20%. Only nine states had more free time in 2024 than they did in 2020.

The Numbers Come From a Federal Survey

For its free time report, Solitaired studied information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey.Researchers compared how people used their time in 2020 and 2024.