← By The Numbers
By The Numbers — The Shared Meal

Americans Are Home Alone.

Americans are home more and alone more; the gathering that shrank is the one at home, while ticketed gatherings grew.
October 6, 2026
The Numbers Desk

One in four Americans ate every meal alone in 2023, and Americans now spend 99 more minutes a day at home than in 2003.

ENTRIES014
SOURCES006
The American Table
001
Chance that an American ate every meal of the previous day alone, in 2023
1 in 4
002
...increase in that share since 2003
53%
003
Difference in self-evaluation of happiness for Americans who dine alone vs those who dine with others
-0.5points
Nobody Comes Over
004
Increase in daily time American adults spend at home, 2003 to 2022
99minutes
005
Percentage of US adults who entertained people in their home in 1995
88%
006
...in 2026
67%
007
Percentage who played a home video game in the past year, in 1995
42%
008
...in 2026
64%
The Gatherings That Grew
009
Percentage of US adults who went to an exercise class in 1995
18%
010
...in 2026
32%
011
...who went to a pop or rock concert, in 1995
19%
012
...in 2026
32%
Mukbang
013
Minimum number of TikTok videos tagged #mukbang, in which creators eat on camera for an audience, in August 2024
Source: CNN
>4million
014
Views of YouTube videos with “mukbang” in the title, in the first seven months of 2024
>30billion