Average American Travel Statistics (2026 Data)

The average American made 2.28¹ trips a day in 2022, the fewest since the first national count in 1969, when it was 2.02¹, and far below the 4.30¹ of 1995. Yet each trip goes farther: the average one was 12.56 miles¹ (20.21 km²) long, 17.4%² longer than in 2017. And trips abroad hit a record: 109.3 million³ international trips in 2025, the most since comparable counts began in 2011.

Travel also takes about an hour of every day, 59.4 minutes⁴ in 2025, and at least $2,758² of the average household's yearly budget goes on trip lodging, fares, food and extras. Further down: on an average day in 2022, 26.0%¹ of people went nowhere at all; Saturday is the busiest day for trips of 50 miles or more; the top-earning fifth of households spends 8.6² times as much on flights as the lowest fifth; and hotel guests in the US book about a month ahead, 30.57 days⁵ on average in 2025.

How much does the average American travel?

In 2022 the average person aged 5 and older made 2.28¹ trips a day, counting every trip from one address to another by any mode and for any purpose. Over a year that adds up to 830¹ trips per person. The daily count is an average over everyone, including people who did not leave home that day, so it is not the number of trips a typical traveler makes.¹

The count has fallen a long way. In 1995 the average person made 4.30¹ trips a day, so the 2022 figure is 47%² lower, and daily miles fell 26%², from 38.67¹ to 28.55¹. Part of the latest step is a change of method: the 2022 count was collected online from more than 7,500¹ households with new questions, so 2017 and 2022 are not a like-for-like pair. The table shows the three headline measures by survey year.

Shopping and errands are the most common reason to leave home: 0.80¹ trips a day per person in 2022, against 0.67¹ social and recreational trips and 0.42¹ trips to or from work. In 1995 the same average person made 1.97¹ shopping and errand trips a day and 0.76¹ work trips.

How far does the average American travel each day?

The average person covered 28.55 miles¹ (45.95 km²) a day in 2022, about 10,421 miles² over a year. The average trip was 12.56 miles¹ long, up from 10.70 miles¹ in 2017 and the longest of any survey year.¹ Personal vehicles carried 83%¹ of those daily miles: 23.69 miles¹ a day went by private vehicle and only 0.28 miles¹ by public transit.

Men aged 36 to 65 covered the most ground, 39.8 miles¹ a day, and men overall traveled farther than women, 31.0¹ against 26.2 miles¹. Among children under 16 the pattern flips: girls covered 21.4 miles¹ a day and boys 15.0¹. The figure for young men aged 16 to 20, 35.8 miles¹, rests on few respondents and carries a margin of error of 28.4 miles¹, so treat it as rough.

Every age group makes fewer trips than it used to. People aged 36 to 65 made 4.6¹ trips a day in 1995 and 2.5¹ in 2022; people over 65 went from 3.4¹ to 2.0¹, and children under 16 from 3.7¹ to 2.0¹.

Who stays home

On an average day in 2022, 26.0%¹ of people and 23.8%¹ of households made no trip at all. For households that is 2.7² times the 8.8%¹ of 2017; for people it is 8.9² percentage points more than the 17.1%¹ of 2017. In 1995 only 12.3%¹ of people stayed home on a given day.

In 2022, 28%¹ of respondents said they had taken fewer trips in the past 30 days than they had planned. Pandemic concerns were the reason most often given, by 26%¹ of them, followed by no time to travel (18%¹), health problems (17%¹), more home deliveries and options they could not afford (16%¹ each).

Across a whole year the average person made 830¹ trips in 2022, 401² fewer than the 1,231¹ of 2017 and about half the 1,568¹ of 1995. Women made more shopping and errand trips than men, 326¹ against 258¹, and men made more trips to and from work, 173¹ against 133¹.

So Americans make fewer trips, yet each one goes farther: since 1995, trips per day fell 47%² but daily miles fell only 26%².

Average American travel habits: why, when and where

Most miles go to free time. Social and recreational trips accounted for 40.04%¹ of all daily miles in 2022, shopping and errands for 20.26%¹ and the trip to or from work for 19.67%¹. School and church trips took 5.63%¹.

Weekends are for longer trips. On a weekend day in 2022 the average person covered 32.6 miles¹, against 26.9¹ on a weekday, and the average trip was 15.0 miles¹ instead of 11.6¹. Weekday trips are far more often work trips: 36.0%¹ of weekday vehicle trips by drivers were work or work-related trips, against 13.0%¹ at weekends (margin of error about 9 points). Drivers spent 42.0 minutes¹ behind the wheel on a weekday, down from 59.0¹ in 2017.

Where people live changes less than expected. Residents of urban areas aged 16 and older made 2.3¹ trips a day in 2022, as many as rural residents, and the share who did not travel on a given day was close: 25.7%¹ in urban areas and 27.2%¹ in rural ones. The big difference is the car: 6.8%¹ of urban residents live without a vehicle, against 1.3%¹ of rural residents.

By region, households in the West are the largest, with 2.54¹ people on average, and have the most drivers, 1.95¹. Midwest households own the most vehicles, 1.96¹, and Northeast households the fewest, 1.61¹.

Working from home has reshaped the weekday. In 2022, 19%¹ of workers worked from home five or more days a week, 7² percentage points more than the 12%¹ of 2017, and the share who never did fell from 78%¹ to 62%¹, 16² points lower.

How much time Americans spend traveling each day

Americans aged 15 and older spent 59.4 minutes⁴ a day traveling in 2025, counting every trip made as a main activity: the commute, errands, school runs, visits and longer journeys. That is 0.99 hours⁴, down from 62.4 minutes⁴ in 2024 and well below the 74.4 minutes⁴ of 2003.

Before 2020, daily travel time stayed between 66.6⁴ and 74.4 minutes⁴. After 2020, when no annual figure was produced, it dropped to 55.2 minutes⁴ in 2021 and has recovered only part of the way. A straight line through 2003-2025 points to about 42.6 minutes² a day by 2050, but the 2021 drop drives much of that slope; it is our calculation, not a forecast.

Shopping is the biggest single reason for time on the move: 0.26 hours⁴ a day of travel to buy goods and services in 2025, ahead of travel for work at 0.22⁴ and for leisure and sports at 0.19⁴. Travel to eat and drink out took 0.10 hours⁴.

Men spend a little more time traveling than women: 62.4 minutes⁴ a day against 58.2⁴ in 2025. In 2019 the order was reversed, with women at 70.2 minutes⁴ and men at 69.6⁴; the totals are sums of rounded activity lines, so a gap of a minute or two is within rounding.

So how often does an everyday trip become a journey?

How often does the average American travel?

It depends on what counts as a trip. Measured by phone location data, where every stop of more than 10 minutes away from home is a trip, the average resident made 4.43⁶ trips a day in 2023 and 40.5⁶ trips of 50 miles or more over the year, while 21.4%⁶ of people stayed within a mile of home on an average day. These device-measured figures are experimental, count a chain of stops as several trips and are not comparable with the household counts above. The data end on April 6, 2024 and have not been updated since, so 2023 is the latest full year.⁶

Residents of the District of Columbia made the most device-measured trips in 2023, 5.49⁶ a day, and Californians the fewest, 3.76⁶, so the top is 1.46² times the bottom. Massachusetts (5.40⁶), Wyoming (5.35⁶) and New York (5.16⁶) follow the capital.

Most trips are short. In 2023, 27.6%⁶ of device-measured trips were under a mile and 23.2%⁶ between one and three miles, so 50.8%² ended within three miles of where they began. Trips of 50 miles or more were 2.5%² of the total.

Longer trips cluster at weekends. For every 100 residents, 12.9⁶ trips of 50 miles or more were made on an average Saturday in 2023 and 12.3⁶ on a Sunday, against 9.7⁶ on a Wednesday, the quietest day; Saturday's figure is 1.33² times Wednesday's.

Counting only trips of 50 miles or more one way, or with a night in paid lodging, an industry estimate puts domestic travel at 2.40 billion⁷ person-trips in 2025, about 7.0² per resident, of which 1.95 billion⁷ were leisure trips and 441.3 million⁷ business trips. The same estimate expects 2.68 billion⁷ in 2030, an industry forecast rather than an official count.⁸

Travel abroad has more than recovered. US citizens took 109.3 million³ international trips in 2025, counting Mexico and Canada, the most since comparable counts began in 2011 and 10.1%² more than the 99.3 million³ of 2019. That is 32.0² trips for every 100 residents, up from 18.7² in 2011.⁸ The first half of 2026 brought 54.2 million³ trips, 3.4%³ more than a year earlier. A straight line through 2011-2025 reaches about 158 million² trips by 2050; our calculation, not a forecast.

Mexico is the top destination by far, with 39.68 million³ US citizen trips in 2025, ahead of Europe with 23.34 million³ and Canada with 13.43 million³. The Caribbean drew 11.34 million³ and Asia 7.58 million³.

Those who fly abroad stay long and plan early. In 2024 the average US resident traveling abroad by air spent 15.3 nights⁹ away, spent $1,907⁹ outside the US and began planning the trip 109 days⁹ before departure. Their household income averaged about $163,000⁹; 61%⁹ traveled for a vacation, 27%⁹ to visit friends or relatives and 5%⁹ on business. In 2019 the stay was 15.3 nights¹⁰.

How far does the average person travel to work?

The average commute trip was 13.43 miles¹ (21.61 km²) long in 2022, 17%² longer than the 11.46 miles¹ of 2017, and took 27.72 minutes¹ at an average 25.51 mph¹. By private vehicle it was 13.56 miles¹ and 26.94 minutes¹; by public transit it was shorter, 7.53 miles¹, but took 43.05 minutes¹.

Measured as one-way time for workers aged 16 and older who do not work from home, the average commute took 27.2 minutes¹¹ in 2024, just under the 27.6 minutes¹¹ of 2019, the longest since the series began in 2006, and 1.6² minutes more than the 25.6¹¹ of 2021. It has lengthened in most years since 25.0 minutes¹¹ in 2006; a straight line through 2006-2024 reaches about 30.0 minutes² by 2050, our calculation, not a forecast.

Most people still drive to work: 90.5%¹ of workers usually commuted by car, truck, van or SUV in 2022, 4.1%¹ by public transit and 2.9%¹ on foot. With more work done at home, the average worker made 261¹ commute trips by vehicle in 2022, against 339¹ in 2017.

From minutes to dollars: all that time on the move has a price.

How much does the average person spend on travel?

The average US household spent at least $2,758² on trips in 2024, counting lodging, fares, food, fuel and entertainment while away, in current dollars. With 2.4¹² people in the average household, that is about $1,149² per person, and 3.5%² of the $78,535¹³ the average household spent on everything. The figure is a floor: it adds up 12¹² trip-spending items and leaves out car rental, local transport and other entertainment on trips, which changed definition in 2024. It is an average over all households, including those that took no trip.

Airline fares cost the average household $682¹² in 2024, 2.1² times the $325¹² of 2010, in current dollars. They fell to $160¹² in 2020 and reached a high of $690¹² in 2023. A straight line through 2010-2024 reaches about $1,072² by 2050, in current dollars; our calculation, not a forecast.

Lodging grew faster: $906¹² per household in 2024, 3.0² times the $299¹² of 2010 and the highest in the series. The trend line reaches about $1,847² by 2050, again in current dollars and our calculation, not a forecast.

Restaurant food on trips followed the same path, from $223¹² per household in 2010 to $479¹² in 2024, while cruise and other ship fares jumped from $11¹² in 2020 to $162¹² in 2024.

Travel spending rises steeply with income. In 2024 the top fifth of households by income spent $1,719¹² on airline fares, 8.6² times the $201¹² of the lowest fifth, and $2,137¹² on lodging on trips, 8.9² times the $240¹² at the bottom.

Spending peaks in middle age. Households headed by someone aged 45 to 54 spent the most on airline fares, $897¹², and on lodging on trips, $1,136¹²; those headed by someone under 25 spent $318¹² and $328¹².

By region, households in the West spent the most on airline fares, $965¹², and those in the Northeast the most on lodging on trips, $1,173¹². The South spent the least on flights, $469¹², so the West's $965¹² is 2.1² times the South's.

By generation, Gen X households, headed by someone born between 1965 and 1980, spent the most on flights, $889¹², and on lodging on trips, $1,084¹². Gen Z households spent $381¹² and $412¹².

Measured from the industry side, domestic travel spending came to $1,185 billion⁷ in 2025, $900.3 billion⁷ of it on leisure travel, or about $494² per domestic person-trip. This industry estimate uses its own definitions and is not comparable with the household figures above.

What is the average booking window for travel now?

For hotels in the US, it is about a month. Guests booked 30.57 days⁵ before check-in on average in 2025, 0.92² days less than the 31.49 days⁵ of 2024 and 1.58² days below the 32.15-day⁵ average of 20⁵ markets. The figures describe hotels on one booking platform, not every US hotel.

Guests book furthest ahead in Ireland, 46.31 days⁵, and Portugal, 45.45⁵; Malaysia has the shortest window, 15.50 days⁵.

Trips abroad are planned much further out. People flying abroad from the US in 2024 began planning 109 days⁹ before departure on average, against the 30.57 days⁵ hotel figure. The two measure different things: when trip planning starts, and when a room is booked. Before the pandemic the planning horizon was about 110 days¹⁰; it shortened to 81¹⁰ to 84 days¹⁰ during the pandemic and was 102¹⁰ in 2022.

What these numbers mean for everyday life

An hour a day, 59.4 minutes⁴, is spent getting somewhere, and the biggest slice of it goes to shopping trips rather than travel for work.⁴ Over a year the average person makes 830¹ trips and covers about 10,421 miles², mostly by car, and on an average day more than a quarter of people make no trip at all.¹

For the household budget, trips cost at least $2,758² a year, 3.5%² of all spending, but the average hides a wide spread: the top fifth of earners spends $1,719¹² on flights alone, while the lowest fifth spends $201¹². Lodging, not airfare, is the largest trip expense.¹²

And the daily commute keeps creeping up, to 27.2 minutes¹¹ each way in 2024, even as fewer workers make it every day. For anyone planning a hotel stay, booking about a month ahead is in line with the average guest.

Conclusions

1. Americans trade many short trips for fewer, longer ones. Daily trips fell from 4.30 in 1995 to 2.28 in 2022, while the average trip grew to 12.56 miles, the longest of any survey year.¹
2. Home became a destination. On an average day in 2022, 26.0% of people made no trip, and 19% of workers worked from home five or more days a week, yet 40.04% of all miles still went to social and recreational trips.¹
3. Travel money follows income. The top fifth of households spent 8.6 times as much on airline fares as the lowest fifth in 2024.¹²
4. Planning horizons split in two. Hotel guests in the US book about a month ahead, 30.57 days in 2025, but people flying abroad start planning 109 days before departure.^{5 9}