New Study Reveals Where Americans Left the Most PTO Unused in 2024

By Neal Taparia - 01/14/2025

An illustration of a person working

Ensuring you have enough time available to plan that summer vacation or visit family for the holidays can be crucial to ensuring peace of mind, but taking time off doesn’t offer peace to everyone. Some Americans stay laser-focused on work or have a plan for rolling their PTO over to the next year, while others simply don’t feel comfortable taking all the time off they’re allowed.

Our goal at Solitaired is to help our users unwind and relax with classic games like Klondike Solitaire and Mahjong. Therefore, ass we step into 2025, we wanted to learn more about how Americans used or didn’t use their vacation time in 2024. To do this, we surveyed residents of every state and asked how much time they were allotted at the start of the year and then how much they spent throughout the year. Using this, we calculated how much time was left on the table on average in each state and ranked them accordingly. Read on to learn which parts of the country left the most PTO unused in 2024.

Key Takeaways

  • Maryland, Massachusetts, and Hawaii workers had the most unused vacation time in 2024.
  • Kansas, Missouri, and Michigan workers had the least unused vacation time in 2024.
  • 47% of Americans are leaving some PTO on the table in 2024.
  • Americans in the government, nonprofit, and engineering industries had the most unused vacation time in 2024.
  • Travel, sick leave, and relaxation are Americans' top three purposes for taking time off in 2024.
  • Saving for a rainy day, focusing on work, and worrying about work piling up are the top three reasons Americans left vacation time unused in 2024.

Where Americans Had the Most and Least Unused Vacation Time

A heatmap of the U.S. showing where workers had the most and least unused vacation time in 2024

While some Americans go over their allotted PTO time, many people leave vacation time unused. Topping the list with the most time left on the table in 2024 is Maryland, where the average resident left more than a week (6.36 days) of vacation unused.

In second place is Massachusetts where workers in the state left an average of 5.76 days unused, and Hawaii follows closely behind in third place with 5.60 days left over. Overall, the average American worker received 12 days of PTO in 2024 and used only 9 of those days.

A trend many companies have adopted in recent years is the concept of unlimited PTO where employees do not receive a set amount of days for vacation, but rather are free to take time when needed within reason. Of those with unlimited PTO, 88% say they like it.

On the other end of the spectrum, we discovered Kansas residents are the least likely to leave PTO unused as the average worker left 1.84 days untouched in 2024. Missouri is up next with an average of 1.91 days, followed by Michigan in third with 2.13 days unused.

A bar chart showing the industries where workers use the most and least unused vacation time in 2024

In general, hybrid workers used more vacation time compared to remote and on-site workers in 2024. From an industry standpoint, workers in the government (5.87), nonprofit (4.92), and engineering (4.84) industries left the most PTO unused last year. Those in the construction (1.55), food services (1.59), and transportation (1.65) industries on the other hand had the least unused vacation time averaging less than two days for each.

The Most Common Purposes Americans Had for PTO in 2024

Donut charts showing the most common reasons Americans used their PTO in 2024

While there is an abundance of purposes Americans have for taking time off from work, we wanted to gain insight into the main uses workers had for their vacation time in 2024. Up first, 52% of people used it for travel. Sometimes getting away from home and work can be refreshing and helpful for a mental reset. Whether you are relaxing on a beach or a nature trail, relaxing on a vacation can help to reduce stress, which can allow your immune system to recover and help keep you healthy upon your return to the office.

This brings us to our second most common reason for PTO usage in 2024, sick leave. Overall, 1 in 2 Americans say they used their vacation time to recover while feeling under the weather. If you are among those who used PTO for sick leave in 2024, focus this year on giving yourself a break as often as possible so your body has time to reset. Experts warn that when you put off vacation and PTO, you don't give yourself time for rest and recovery. This allows your stress hormones to remain elevated, making you prone to colds and the flu, as well as making you more vulnerable to heart disease, cancer, and other serious illnesses.

Coming in at number three is relaxation. Using PTO does not always need to be linked to a specific purpose like traveling or being sick. Working 40 hours a week or even longer in some cases can be exhausting. Sometimes planning a grand vacation just feels like another item to add to a to-do list, so for some people taking time off from work to simply relax is ideal.

Health-related appointments, personal reasons, and mental health are the fourth, fifth, and sixth most common purposes Americans had for their vacation time in 2024. In general, 1 in 4 people are happy with the amount of PTO they get each year, while 61% of people wish they had more. On the other hand, 1 in 8 people are happy with the amount of vacation time they receive but simply wish they used it more frequently.

Why Americans Left Vacation Time Unused in 2024

A bar chart showing the most common reasons Americans left PTO unused in 2024

Overall, 47% of Americans left some PTO on the table in 2024, but why? We found the most common reason workers left their vacation time unused is because they are saving for a rainy day. You never know when an emergency will arise or when you simply need to take a day for yourself, so if you can roll unused time over to the next year, it can come in handy in the future.

The second most common reason with 1 in 3 workers noting it is being too focused on work. Most people take pride in their work and spend a great deal of time thinking about it. For some, the idea of taking time away is either unappealing or stressful, so they choose to keep their nose to the grindstone.

In a similar sense, the third most common reason people leave PTO unused is due to fear of work piling up while they are out of the office. Some companies have a large workforce with a variety of people to hand work off to when you go on vacation, but this is not the case for every workplace.

In some cases, managers simply frown upon taking time away from their work as nearly 1 in 5 Americans with unused vacation time say they didn't use more PTO because taking time off looks bad to management. In addition, 1 in 9 people say their employer has criticized them for taking too much time off.

Take a Game Break with Solitaired

Taking time for yourself is important in life. While our careers take up a large portion of our time, for most people at least 40 hours of the week, it can be difficult to find time to unwind outside of going to bed each night.

Whether you are using your vacation time to travel somewhere new or just taking time to relax at home, using your PTO can be crucial for your mental health. At Solitaired, we know that not everyone receives unlimited PTO or in some cases any vacation time at all, so if you are among those wishing you could take more time away from work, we encourage you to find other ways to relieve your stress.

Next time you feel like the struggle of balancing life and work is becoming too much, simply take a moment for yourself and spend time on an activity like going for a walk outside or playing a game of Pyramid Solitaire or Yahtzee on the couch.

Methodology

In this study, we wanted to learn which parts of the country are leaving the most unused vacation time on the table in 2024. To do this, we surveyed workers in every state and asked how much vacation time they received at the beginning of the year and how much time they took off this year. Using this data, we calculated the average amount of PTO each state's residents left unused over the past year.

In addition to the unused time, we also asked respondents about the purposes they had for using PTO, why they left vacation time unused, their opinions on the amount of PTO they received, and more.

About the author

Neal Taparia is one of the founders of Solitaired. He loves playing card games and is interested in understanding how games can help with brain training and skills building. In addition to card games, he also likes fishing and mountain biking.
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