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Data · Friends
How much time do people spend with friends?
Americans average about 27 min a day with friends, down from 1 hr in 2003. Men and women lost about the same share.
Numbers last updated October 2026. We refresh them each summer, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a new year.
Since 2003
Average minutes a day with friends, each year. Men’s time fell 55% and women’s 58%.
Time alone outside work rose from 4 hr 45 min to 5 hr 35 min a day. 2020 isn’t counted, since the survey stopped for two months.
See the numbers
| Year | Everyone | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1 hr | 55 min | 1 hr 5 min |
| 2004 | 1 hr | 55 min | 1 hr 5 min |
| 2005 | 55 min | 50 min | 1 hr |
| 2006 | 50 min | 50 min | 55 min |
| 2007 | 50 min | 50 min | 55 min |
| 2008 | 50 min | 45 min | 55 min |
| 2009 | 50 min | 50 min | 55 min |
| 2010 | 55 min | 50 min | 1 hr 5 min |
| 2011 | 55 min | 50 min | 1 hr |
| 2012 | 55 min | 50 min | 1 hr |
| 2013 | 55 min | 50 min | 1 hr |
| 2014 | 50 min | 45 min | 55 min |
| 2015 | 50 min | 45 min | 50 min |
| 2016 | 45 min | 45 min | 50 min |
| 2017 | 40 min | 35 min | 45 min |
| 2018 | 40 min | 40 min | 40 min |
| 2019 | 35 min | 35 min | 35 min |
| 2021 | 25 min | 25 min | 25 min |
| 2022 | 25 min | 25 min | 25 min |
| 2023 | 25 min | 25 min | 25 min |
| 2024 | 25 min | 25 min | 30 min |
| 2025 | 25 min | 25 min | 30 min |
Average a day with friends. Each number is give or take about 2 to 5 minutes.
By age
Average time a day with friends in 2023–2025. It’s highest in the teens and early twenties, then halves by the thirties.
See the numbers
| Age | A day with friends |
|---|---|
| 15–24 | 50 min (± 5 min) |
| 25–34 | 30 min (± a few min) |
| 35–44 | 20 min (± a few min) |
| 45–54 | 20 min (± a few min) |
| 55–64 | 20 min (± a few min) |
| 65–74 | 20 min (± a few min) |
| 75+ | 20 min (± a few min) |
Who sees friends least
Parents with kids at home average about 14 to 15 minutes a day with friends, about half what people without kids at home get.
See the numbers
| Group | A day with friends |
|---|---|
| Youngest child under 6 | 15 min (± a few min) |
| Youngest child 6 to 17 | 15 min (± a few min) |
| No kids under 18 at home | 30 min (± a few min) |
| Working full time | 25 min (± a few min) |
| Working part time | 35 min (± 10 min) |
| Not working | 25 min (± a few min) |
Americans 15 and older, 2023–2025. “Kids” means their own children under 18 at home.
In Canada
About 1 in 5 Canadians saw a friend in person on a given day in 2022–23, by Porcupine’s count from Statistics Canada’s survey, which matches Statistics Canada’s own figure of 19.3%. In 1986, it was just under half (47.9%), by Statistics Canada’s count.
How it feels
Time with friends rates among the best in both countries: 4.8 out of 6 for happiness in the United States, and 4.4 out of 5, the highest, for how pleasant in Canada. See all of it
What this means for you
- Reach out without keeping score. If a friendship has gone quiet, they may be as stretched as you. Ask before deciding what the silence means. Check before assuming ›
- Say what you miss, not what they did wrong. “I miss our walks” is easier to hear than “You never call.” Describe, don’t diagnose ›
- Make a small, clear plan. “Coffee next Saturday?” is easier to say yes to than “We should catch up sometime.” Honest and hearable ›
General ideas from the principles Porcupine is built on, not advice for your situation.
Got something to say to a friend?
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Common questions
How much time do people spend with friends?
Americans 15 and older average about 27 min a day with friends in person, counting every day of the week, single or not. Most days, most people don’t see a friend at all, so the average mixes many days with none and some with hours.
Is time with friends going down?
Yes. It fell from about 1 hr a day in 2003 to 27 min in 2025, with the biggest drops after 2016. Time alone outside work rose over the same years.
Is it only men who are losing time with friends?
No. Men’s time with friends fell 55% and women’s 58% since 2003, about the same share.
Does this count texting and calls?
No. The survey counts time spent with friends in person. Calls, texts and video chats aren’t counted as time together.
Guides for friends
Find the words with Porcupine
PorcupineFriendships fade quietly, usually without a fight. I can help you find the words to reach back out, say you miss them, or clear the air.
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Just your email. How we handle it
More from the data
- Who fills your day?Partners, kids, friends and family, at every age
- How much time do couples spend together?5 hr 10 min a day, and how much of it is talking
- How much of your time with your parents is behind you?Pick your age to see your share
How we counted
- Each person in the survey writes down one day, hour by hour, and who was with them: in the same room at home, or with them when out. Calls, texts and video chats don’t count, and nobody is asked who was there while they slept, washed or dressed.
- Every number is an average from a sample, weighted to stand for people 15 and older living in their own homes, so each comes with a margin of error. Hover or tap a chart to see it. Numbers too uncertain to trust are left out.
More on how we counted
- Time can count twice: a dinner with a partner and the kids counts for both.
- The lifetime chart compares people of different ages today, not one life followed over the years.
- The yearly numbers use the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ own total for each person’s time with friends. Source: Porcupine’s analysis of the American Time Use Survey, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which hasn’t reviewed these pages, 2003–2025. Canada: Adapted from Statistics Canada, Time Use Survey 2022, public use microdata file, under the Statistics Canada Open Licence. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product. The 1986 and 2022 figures are from Statistics Canada, Time pressure and time spent with friends over the last 30 years (The Daily, June 17, 2025).
These pages are general information, not professional advice.