Average PTO in the US: Paid Vacation Days by Years of Service (2026)

The biggest jump happens early. Workers climb from 11 days to 16 by year 5, then add only a handful more over the next 15 years, so the early steps are the ones worth negotiating.

State and local government starts higher at 13 days after a year and reaches 22 after 20 years. Keep in mind only 61% of these workers have paid vacation at all, partly because many teachers are not offered it.

The averages hide a wide spread. After one year, 29% of private workers get 5 to 9 days while 21% get 15 to 19, so a 15-day starting offer already beats most of the market.

Employer size is one of the clearest dividing lines. A 10-year employee at a company with 500 or more workers averages 22 days, compared with 16 at a firm with fewer than 50.

Who gets vacation at all depends heavily on pay and hours. Only 38% of part-time workers and 55% of the lowest-paid quarter have paid vacation, against 93% of full-time workers.

Access has crept up from 76% in 2017 to 80% in 2026. BLS warns these yearly estimates are not a strict time series, so read the line as a slow drift rather than a precise trend.

Average paid vacation days by years of service and worker group, March 2026

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Benefits (NB) time series: paid vacation average days and day bands, paid vacation access, paid holidays and sick leave average days (e.g., NBU20500000000000030039, NBU20500000000000033030); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Paid leave benefits: Average number of sick and vacation days by length of service requirement, March 2026. Download as image

Percent of private industry workers by annual paid vacation days and years of service, March 2026 (rows may not sum to 100% due to rounding)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Benefits (NB) time series: paid vacation average days and day bands, paid vacation access, paid holidays and sick leave average days (e.g., NBU20500000000000030039, NBU20500000000000033030); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Paid vacations: Who receives paid vacations? (fact sheet). Download as image

Other paid leave benchmarks, March 2026

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2026 (news release USDL); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Benefits (NB) time series: paid vacation average days and day bands, paid vacation access, paid holidays and sick leave average days (e.g., NBU20500000000000030039, NBU20500000000000033030); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Paid leave benefits: Average number of sick and vacation days by length of service requirement, March 2026. Download as image

How many PTO days is normal in the US?

For a private-sector worker with one year of service, 11 paid vacation days is the average. Full-time workers do a little better at 12. If you are part-time, the average drops to 7, and that is only among part-timers who get paid vacation in the first place.

Those numbers count vacation only. Most employers also give paid holidays, with private industry averaging 8 a year, and separate sick days, averaging 7 after a year. So a job advertised as "11 days PTO" might be fairly standard if holidays and sick time sit on top, or quite lean if everything is lumped into one bucket.

That is the first thing to sort out when you compare offers. A combined PTO bank of 20 days sounds better than 11 vacation days. But 11 vacation days plus 8 paid holidays plus 7 sick days is more total time off than that bank, so the plan that looks smaller on paper can give you more rest.

How does vacation grow with years of service?

Most policies use a tenure ladder. In private industry the averages are 11 days after 1 year, 16 after 5, 18 after 10 and 20 after 20. The 5-year figure was 15 days in March 2025, so that step moved up by a day this year.

Notice how flat the top gets. Once you pass five years, each extra day takes years to earn. That has two practical effects. First, the vacation you lock in when you are hired matters more than the steps that come later. Second, if you leave a long-tenured job, you may drop back to the bottom rung unless you negotiate your way back up.

Say you have spent 10 years at a large company and earn about 22 days. A smaller firm recruits you with its standard new-hire policy of 10 days. On paper that is the same title and more salary, but you would be giving up a big chunk of paid rest every year. Ask them to start you on the rung that matches your experience. The answer may be no, but you will never have more bargaining power than before you sign.

Why do some workers get far more PTO than others?

Employer size is a big driver. After one year, private firms with fewer than 50 workers average 10 days, while those with 500 or more average 14. At 20 years the gap widens to 17 days versus 24.

Pay and hours decide even more about who gets vacation at all. In the top tenth of wages, 96% of workers have paid vacation. For the lowest-paid quarter it is 55%, and for part-time workers it is 38%. Union members are also ahead of nonunion workers, 89% to 79%.

Other kinds of paid leave are less common. Just 51% of private workers have paid personal leave and 49% have paid family and medical leave, so a job that offers both beats what most private employers provide.

Public employers turn some of this around. State and local government workers are less likely to have paid vacation, at 61%, but far more likely to have paid sick leave, at 93% versus 81% in private industry. They also average 11 paid holidays to private industry's 8.

Is paid vacation required by law?

No. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires 0 paid vacation days. The Department of Labor treats vacation as a matter of agreement between you and your employer, which is exactly why the contract or written policy matters so much.

Some states and cities step in on related issues. Many require paid sick leave, and some require employers to pay out unused vacation when you leave, or bar policies where earned time simply disappears. Those rules vary a lot, so check your own state before you assume your balance is safe.

Do Americans actually use their PTO?

Having vacation and taking it are two different things. In Pew Research Center's 2023 survey, 46% of workers who get paid time off said they take less than their employer offers. People gave reasons like worrying about falling behind, feeling bad for coworkers who would cover for them, or not feeling they needed the time.

Leaving days on the table can cost you real money. If your policy has a carryover cap or a use-it-or-lose-it rule, unused days vanish at year end. If your state does not require payout and your handbook says nothing, you may walk away from a job with a balance and get nothing for it.

Here is a simple habit that helps. Look at your balance every quarter, book at least part of it in advance, and read the carryover and payout sections of your policy once a year. Policies change, and in many cases an employer can revise one going forward without asking for your agreement.

What to do with these numbers

• Job seekers: treat vacation as part of pay. If an offer comes in below 12 days for a full-time role, the full-time average after a year, ask for more before you sign, when you have the most bargaining power.
• Experienced hires: ask to be placed on the tenure step that matches your years in the field, not the new-hire rung.
• Employees: check if your time accrues per pay period, when it vests, whether it carries over and what happens to it when you quit or are let go.
• Small business owners: you do not have to match a 500-person company, but offering 10 to 14 days after a year puts you in the most common band, where 32% of private workers sit, and ahead of the 29% who get 5 to 9.
• Everyone: actually use it. 46% of workers with paid time off took less than they were offered in Pew's 2023 survey, and unused days are worth nothing if your policy lets them expire.

Sources and method

Every number on this page comes from the sources below, each opened and read on or before October 18, 2026. A second, independent review checked every figure against its source and corrected anything that did not match. Figures that could not be confirmed were left out.

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Paid leave benefits: Average number of sick and vacation days by length of service requirement, March 2026 (March 2026 estimates (released September 25, 2026))
2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2026 (news release USDL) (September 25, 2026)
3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table 6. Selected paid leave benefits: Access, March 2026 (September 25, 2026)
4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Paid vacations: Who receives paid vacations? (fact sheet) (Last modified September 25, 2026 (2026 data))
5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Benefits (NB) time series: paid vacation average days and day bands, paid vacation access, paid holidays and sick leave average days (e.g., NBU20500000000000030039, NBU20500000000000033030) (2026 annual estimates (March 2026 reference), queried 2026-10-18)
6. U.S. Department of Labor, Vacation Leave (Undated page, read 2026-10-18)
7. Pew Research Center, More than 4 in 10 U.S. workers don't take all their paid time off (August 10, 2023)