What Is The Average Amount Of PTO Days In America? - Zippia (2024)

Research Summary. The average amount of PTO days in America is 10 days each year. This is for all jobs in the private sector and does not include paid holidays (like Thanksgiving and Labor Day). Sick days are typically bundled within a company’s PTO policy. It also assumes at least one year of employment at a company.

Key Takeaways:

• The average PTO for someone who’s worked for 5 years at a company with 1-99 employees is 13 days, but for a company with 100+ employees that number increases to 16 days.

• 92% of private industry employees at companies with 500+ employees have access to PTO, while only 64% of state and local government employees at the same size companies do.

• 95% of employees in the financial activities and manufacturing industries have access to PTO, compared to only 43% of leisure and hospitality employees.

For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Factors | Industry

Factors That Determine Typical PTO Per Year

Additionally, working for a larger establishment and/or working for the same establishment for many years typically correlates with more PTO days.

For example, those in the private industry who have worked for the same company of 100+ workers for 20+ years enjoy an average of 23 PTO days each while those in the private industry who have only spent 1 year with a company of 1-99 workers have an average of 9 PTO days a year.

The average amount of PTO days in America is somewhat skewed, however, by the fact that 28 million Americans don’t get any PTO days at all. While you might think that small businesses are the worst offenders for not offering PTO, it’s actually state and local governments who provide PTO plans at the lowest rates, regardless of establishment size.

While government employees tend to have access to PTO days less often, those who do get paid time off usually beat out their private industry counterparts. A government employee with the same tenure with an organization averages between 1-2 more days of PTO each year than a private industry employee.

What Industry Has the Most PTO Days?

The financial activities and manufacturing industries have the most access to PTO days. 95% of employees who work for private companies in manufacturing or financial activities have access to paid vacation.

On the lowest end of the spectrum, the leisure and hospitality industry has the lowest access to PTO days at just 43%. That’s a very wide margin between the next defined industry — trade, transportation, and utilities — which offers 81% of its employees PTO days.

Employees With PTO Access by Industry

Average PTO Days in the United States FAQ

1. How much PTO a year is normal?

   10 days of a PTO a year is normal, if you work in the private industry and have worked with your current employer for at least 1 year. In most cases, the amount of PTO days an employee receives each year relates to how many years they’ve worked for their employer, whether they’re employed in the private industry or via the government, and the industry they work in.

   The size of a company also plays a significant role in the proportion of the workforce that gets PTO days. Bigger companies (500+ employees) provide 92% of their workers with PTO days, while smaller companies (1-49 workers) provide only 71% of their workers with PTO days.

2. Is 15 days of PTO good?

   Yes, 15 days of PTO is good for most employees. If a job is advertising 15 days of PTO for new hires, that can definitely be considered a good offer and a significant draw for talented candidates.

   On average, an employee must work for the same company for 5 years to increase their number of annual PTO days to 15 a year.

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3. Are sick days the same as PTO?

   No, sick days are not the same as PTO. However, most employers don’t differentiate between sick days, vacation days, or days away from work for any other reason. In the modern workplace, most employers provide a set amount of PTO days that an employee can use for whatever reason(s) they need — including for sick days.

4. How do I calculate my PTO?

   You calculate your PTO by dividing your total annual PTO by the number of pay periods you have each year. For example, if you are paid biweekly, you’ll have 26 paychecks each year. If you earn 10 days of PTO each year, then you’ll gain 3.08 hours of PTO every two weeks.

   Note that different companies may have different policies for PTO accumulation, so be sure to check with your HR department.

Conclusion

PTO days can vary depending on the industry you work in and the policies of your organization, averaging out to 10 days per year for workers in the United States. You will also generally earn more PTO days the longer you’ve worked for the same employer, though many American workers don’t get any PTO days at all.

It’s important to carefully read and understand your employer’s policies regarding PTO days, and be sure to check in with your HR department if you have any questions.

References

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Employee Benefits Survey.” Accessed on February 27, 2022.

2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Private Industry Workers Vacation Days.” Accessed on February 27, 2022.

3. Zippia. “PTO Statistics.” Accessed on February 27, 2022.