Unused Vacation and PTO Statistics (2026)

Forty-six percent of US workers with paid time off typically take less than their employer offers, according to Pew Research Center's survey of 4,408 such workers. Eighty percent of private-sector workers have access to paid vacation at all, 93% of full-timers and 38% of part-timers, and those who do get an average of 11 days after a year of service rising to 20 after twenty. The United States is the only OECD country with no statutory paid annual leave.

The pages that rank for this question are built on a 768 million unused days figure from 2018 data whose publisher has stopped counting, a 13-against-15 days unlimited PTO finding from 2018 that later data reversed, and an access figure from 2022 that BLS has since updated three times. This page uses the March 2026 BLS benefits release, Pew's 2023 probability sample, SHRM's 2025 employer survey, the Eagle Hill, Empower and Expedia surveys with their samples, and the OECD's statutory leave table, and explains what the old figures were.

Who gets paid vacation at all

The BLS National Compensation Survey, released in September 2026 for March 2026, is the worker-side measure of access.

Paid sick leave and paid holidays each reached 81% of private workers, and paid personal leave 51%. Pew's 2023 survey of 5,188 workers found 82% saying their employer offers paid time off, 91% of upper-income and about two thirds of lower-income workers. On the employer side, SHRM's 2025 benefits survey of 3,969 organizations found at least 95% offering paid vacation, holidays and sick leave, and 68% combining vacation and sick leave into one PTO bank. The gap between 95% of employers and 80% of workers is the part-time, low-wage and small-business workforce. Our paid sick leave laws by state page covers the one form of leave some states mandate.

How many days US workers get

Among private workers with paid vacation, BLS's March 2026 data show an average of 11 days after one year of service, 16 after five, 18 after ten and 20 after twenty. State and local government workers get 13, 16, 19 and 22. Paid sick leave averages 7 days at every tenure. Thirty-two percent of private workers receive 10 to 14 vacation days after a year, and 30% receive 15 to 19 days after ten years. SHRM's employer data put combined PTO at 12 days for workers with under a year of service and 26 at twenty years or more. Expedia's 2024 survey of 11,580 adults in eleven countries found Americans receiving 12 days a year, the fewest of any country surveyed, against 29 in France. The BLS averages are for workers who have the benefit, not all workers. Our PTO accrual calculator covers how those days build up.

How much goes unused, and why

Pew's February 2023 survey asked the 4,408 workers whose employer offers PTO how much they take. Forty-eight percent take all of it, 46% take less and 5% have unlimited PTO. Among the 2,140 who take less, the reasons:

• Do not feel the need to take more: 52%
• Worry about falling behind: 49%
• Feel badly about co-workers taking on extra work: 43%
• Worry it might hurt chances of advancement: 19%
• Worry about losing their job: 16%
• Manager discourages time off: 12%

Workers with a four-year degree were more likely to leave PTO unused than those without, 51% against 41%, as were upper-income workers. Sixty-two percent called PTO extremely important in a job, more than health insurance at 51% or a 401(k) at 44%. Eagle Hill Consulting's October 2024 survey of 1,387 US employees by Ipsos found 48% not expecting to use all their vacation that year and 36% who had not taken a vacation in twelve months; the top barriers were cost at 44%, self-imposed pressure at 28%, heavy workload at 24%, no paid time off at 24%, no one to cover at 21% and manager pressure at 14%. Expedia found 53% of Americans not planning to use all their time off and 65% feeling "vacation deprived," an eleven-year high. Glassdoor's 2017 survey found workers using 54% of eligible time; QuickBooks' 2019 panel found 61% leaving some unused. Our PTO rollover and payout guide covers what happens to the balance.

Working while on vacation

Glassdoor's 2017 Harris Poll of 2,224 adults found 66% of employees who took vacation worked during it, up from 61% in 2014, with fear of falling behind at 34% and no one else able to do the work at 30% the leading reasons; 29% were contacted by a co-worker and 25% by their boss. Eagle Hill's 2024 data found 58% fully disconnected on their last vacation, 24% checked messages and 5% kept working. Empower's July 2024 survey of 1,028 full-time employees found 49% checking work email on PTO, 42% of them answering it, and 35% feeling anxious about requesting time off. Eagle Hill also found 45% of workers reporting burnout, 54% of Gen Z and 52% of millennials. Our employee burnout statistics page covers that side.

Unlimited PTO: how common, how used

Unlimited PTO is rarer than its coverage suggests. SHRM's 2025 survey found 6% of employers offering paid open or unlimited leave, down from 7% in 2024. Pew found 5% of workers with PTO saying their employer offers it, and Eagle Hill found 10% of workers saying they have it, while 37% said they would prefer it and 85% said a mandated minimum number of vacation days would be beneficial. On use, the latest data reverse the older finding. Empower found full-time employees with unlimited policies taking 16 days against 14 for limited ones, and 26% saying they would consider a lower-paying job for unlimited PTO. Namely's 2022 analysis of about 1,000 client companies found 12.1 days taken on unlimited plans against 11.4 on limited ones, reversing its own 2018 finding of 13 against 15 that most pages still quote. Our unlimited PTO policy guide covers the design choices.

The US against other countries

The OECD's family database records statutory minimum paid annual leave for a full-time employee with a year's tenure. The US figure is zero: the OECD describes it as "the only OECD country that does not provide a statutory minimum annual leave entitlement, at the federal level at least." Most OECD countries guarantee at least 20 working days. The UK requires 28, France, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Finland 25, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy 20, Korea 15, Japan and Canada 10 and Mexico 6. The Center for Economic and Policy Research's 2019 report found the US the only one of 21 rich countries with no legally guaranteed paid vacation or holidays, and that 52% of low-wage against 91% of high-wage US workers received paid vacation. In Expedia's survey, 93% of French and 83% of American workers saw vacation as a basic right.

The dollar value forfeited

No current primary estimate exists. The figures that circulate are the US Travel Association's 2018-data estimate of 768 million unused days, 236 million forfeited and $65.5 billion in lost benefits, from a series that ended with that year; QuickBooks' 2019 extrapolation of $172 billion from a 738-person panel with no stated assumptions; and Sorbet's payroll-based estimates of about $3,000 in unused accrued PTO per worker, which sit in a gated report. If a page gives a national dollar total, it is one of those three. For your own organization, the arithmetic is unused days multiplied by daily pay, and our vacation tracking guide covers how to measure it.

What increases use

The Pew data say the main barriers are internal, not managerial: 49% fear falling behind and 43% feel guilty about colleagues, while 12% cite a discouraging manager. That points to coverage planning and workload rather than permission. The Eagle Hill data add cost as the top practical barrier, which argues for time off without travel. Unlimited policies do not suppress use in the latest data. And 85% of workers say a mandated minimum would help, which is what the rest of the OECD has. Our employee vacation tracking guide covers how to see the balances before they expire.

Figures to stop using

• "768 million unused vacation days" and "$65.5 billion forfeited." US Travel Association estimates from 2018 data, published in 2019. The series ended there.
• "$236 billion lost to the economy." A 2016-data estimate of forgone travel spending, not forfeited leave, from the same source.
• "Americans get 10 days of vacation." From 2012 and 2017 BLS data. The March 2026 average after a year is 11, rising to 16 at five years.
• "72% of US workers have paid vacation." A 2022 figure. BLS March 2026 shows 80% of private and 77% of civilian workers.
• "Unlimited PTO workers take 13 days against 15." Namely 2018. Namely 2022 found 12.1 against 11.4 and Empower 2024 found 16 against 14.
• "46% don't use all their PTO (Pew 2024)." Fieldwork was February 2023, and the base is workers whose employer offers PTO.
• "Nearly 100% of companies offer PTO." SHRM's employer sample, not worker access.
• "The US is the only country with no paid vacation law." The OECD's wording is "only OECD country, at the federal level"; CEPR's is "only advanced economy" among 21.

Key takeaways

• 80% of private-industry workers have access to paid vacation in March 2026: 93% of full-timers, 38% of part-timers, 55% of the lowest wage quartile and 94% of the highest.
• Workers with paid vacation average 11 days after one year of service, 16 after five, 18 after ten and 20 after twenty.
• 46% of workers with PTO take less than they are offered. The top reasons are not feeling the need at 52%, fear of falling behind at 49% and guilt about co-workers at 43%. 12% cite a discouraging manager.
• 48% of workers did not expect to use all their 2024 vacation and 36% had not taken one in a year. Cost was the top barrier at 44%.
• 66% of workers who took vacation worked during it in 2017, and 49% of full-timers check work email on PTO in 2024.
• 6% of employers offer unlimited PTO. Workers with it take 16 days against 14 for fixed plans in the latest data, reversing a 2018 finding.
• The US statutory minimum is zero days against 20 or more in most OECD countries, 28 in the UK and 25 in France.
• The 768 million unused days and $65.5 billion figures are 2018 data from a series that has ended.