How much do people spend on their favorite hobbies?

A 2024 Business Insider report estimates that the average American has between four to six hours of leisure time per day. [1] Business Insider, Americans have no idea how to use their free time, 2024 https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-free-time-leisure-dont-use-television-2024-3#:~:text=But%20that%20only%20tells%20half,people%20spend%20doing%20various%20activities. For many, spending this time on hobbies is a good way to wind down and feel more fulfilled. But what constitutes a hobby is surprisingly broad. A hobby is defined as any “pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation”. [2] Merriam-Webster, “Hobby”, 2024 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobby#:~:text=%3A%20a%20pursuit%20outside%20one's%20regular%20occupation%20engaged%20in%20especially%20for%20relaxation

But whether you find joy in video gaming or shopping, the costs can quickly add up. And as your skills and interests increase over time, you might become more inclined to spend money on professional equipment or splash out on the latest gear. To find out how much avid hobbyists are spending on their favorite pastimes a survey of 1,059 American adults was conducted on behalf of Self Financial.

Key findings:

The average person spends $98 on their favorite hobby each month.
Making music is the most expensive hobby, with an average spend of $174 per month.
Three in five (59.3%) find it difficult to afford their favorite hobby.
Half of people (52.4%) said they were spending less on their favorite hobby compared to the previous year.
The most common favorite hobby is reading (16%), video gaming (13.7%), and cooking (12.3%).
The least common favorite hobbies in the study were socializing (1.1%), writing (1.1%), and meditation (1.1%).

The most and least common favorite hobbies

A survey by Statista in September 2024 revealed the most popular hobbies in the U.S. [3] Statistica, Most popular hobbies & activities in the U.S. as of September 2024, 2024 https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997050/most-popular-hobbies-and-activities-in-the-us Using this list of hobbies, a survey conducted on behalf of Self Financial asked respondents which of these 18 hobbies they would describe as their favorite hobby. The survey then asked respondents a series of questions about the cost of maintaining their hobbies.

When asked what their favorite hobby is 16% said they spent most time reading. Video gaming was the next most popular favorite hobby (13.7%) and cooking came third (12.3%).

The top 5 most popular favorite hobbies:

Reading (16%)
Video gaming (13.7%)
Cooking (12.3%)
DIY and arts & crafts (9.7%)
Traveling (8.8%)

The least common favorite hobbies in the study were socializing (1.1%), writing (1.1%), and meditation (1.1%).

The top 5 least popular favorite hobbies:

Socializing (1.1%)
Writing (1.1%)
Meditation (1.1%)
Cars/ vehicles (1.5%)
Making music (2%)

The average cost of the most popular hobbies in the U.S.

Taking into account all 18 hobbies on the Statistica list, the average amount someone spends from our survey on their favorite hobby per month is $98. [3] Statistica, Most popular hobbies & activities in the U.S. as of September 2024, 2024 https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997050/most-popular-hobbies-and-activities-in-the-us

Looking at the percentage breakdown, the most common spend was between $50 - $100 (36.5%) but one in four reportedly spent more than $100 per month on their favorite hobby.

On average how much do people spend on their favorite hobby per month?

Amount	Percentage of respondents
Less than $20	18%
$20 - $50	18.5%
$50 - $100	36.5%
$100 - $200	17.9%
$200 - $500	7.2%
$500+	1.8%

Average spend per month per hobby

The average spend ranged significantly per month depending on the choice of favorite hobby.

Those who said that gardening was their favorite hobby on average spent the least, at $65 per month. The next smallest average spends per hobby were on the first and most popular favorite hobbies in the study: reading ($66) and video gaming ($70).

On the other hand, those whose favorite hobby was making music spent the most on average in the study. The keen musicians in the study reportedly spent $174 per month on their passion. Those with an avid interest in cars and vehicles spent the second most per month ($171) followed by people who said travel was their favorite leisure activity ($143).

Favorite hobby	Percentage of respondents	Average spend per month
Reading	16%	$66
Video gaming	13.7%	$70
Cooking/baking	12.3%	$135
DIY and arts & crafts	9.7%	$80
Traveling	8.8%	$143
Outdoor activities	6.2%	$93
Pets	4.3%	$116
Shopping	4.3%	$114
Photography	3.8%	$90
Tech/computers	3%	$85
Doing sports and fitness	2.9%	$100
Gardening and plants	2.8%	$65
Board games/card games	2.7%	$95
Making music	2.0%	$174
Cars/vehicles	1.5%	$171
Meditation/wellness	1.1%	$126
Socializing	1.1%	$93
Writing	1.1%	$72
Other	2.5%	$120

Attitudes towards spending on hobbies

However, more people than not are struggling to afford their favorite pastimes. When asked whether they found it difficult to afford their favorite hobby 59.3% said yes. Those earning between $10,001 - $25,000 were the most likely (69.8%) to say that they were finding it hard to maintain their hobby financially. Those who earned more than $100,000 per year were the least likely (21.3%) to say they couldn’t afford their hobby.

Of those who had found it difficult to afford their hobby 44.3% said they had switched to a new hobby, and 24.8% said they had modified their hobby to be more affordable.

Compared to last year, 52.4% said they were spending less on their favorite hobby, 24.8% said their spending hadn’t changed, and 22.8% said they were spending more on their hobby.

Due to the high cost of entry, some hobbies may be more aspirational than realistic choices. When asked whether they thought their favorite hobby was too expensive for newcomers, 55.1% of respondents said yes. However, even knowing what they do now about the cost of their hobby, 93.2% said they don’t regret their choice of pursuing their passion.

Methodology

In this study, a hobby is defined as “a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation” according to the definition by Merriam-Webster. The list of 18 popular hobbies chosen for this study was taken from a June 2024 study conducted by the internal team at Statistica:

https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997050/most-popular-hobbies-and-activities-in-the-us

The survey was conducted in October 2024 and asked 1,1059 Americans adults questions about their favorite hobbies, their spend on their favorite hobbies, and how they feel about these expenses.

We used a proportionally representative user base, with respondents answering a range of questions regarding their spending on their favorite hobbies.

The demographics of the respondents were:

Gender:

Female 55.5%
Male 42.9%
Non-binary 1.2%
Not listed 0.2%
Prefer not to say 0.2%

Age:

18 - 26 14.8%
27 - 42 63.5%
43 - 58 16.8%
59 - 68 3.4%
69+ 1.5%

Level of Income:

Less than $10,000 8.4%
$10,001 - $25,000 10%
$25,001 - $40,000 16.6%
$40,001 - $55,000 26.5%
$55,001 - $70,000 18.9%
$70,001 - $85,000 7.8%
$85,000 - $100,000 4.2%
$100,000+ 7.6%

Sources

^[1] Business Insider, Americans have no idea how to use their free time, 2024 https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-free-time-leisure-dont-use-television-2024-3#:~:text=But%20that%20only%20tells%20half,people%20spend%20doing%20various%20activities.
^[2] Merriam-Webster, “Hobby”, 2024 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobby#:~:text=%3A%20a%20pursuit%20outside%20one's%20regular%20occupation%20engaged%20in%20especially%20for%20relaxation
^[3] Statistica, Most popular hobbies & activities in the U.S. as of September 2024, 2024 https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997050/most-popular-hobbies-and-activities-in-the-us