By Ian Patrick, FISM News
At the end of 2019, Gallup polled 1,025 Americans on what leisure activities they would frequent for the year. These listed activities include going to libraries, movies, sporting events, live shows, and other likewise locations. Gallup posted the averaged data at the beginning of this year.
Trips to the library topped this list with an average of 10.5. This is almost twice the 5.3 average number of people going to the movies, which came second in the list. Taking into account the number of blockbuster movies in 2019, including Avengers: Endgame, Joker, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, this may be particularly surprising to avid moviegoers. The list follows with attending a live sporting event at 4.7 average trips, attending a live music or theatrical event at 3.8 average trips, and visiting a national or historical park at 3.7 average trips. The remainder of the listed activities can be seen in the graph above.
The data also splits into identifying the behaviors of certain demographics. For example, women visited the library more than men on average. People in the 30-49 age group were the most active, which means they participated in the most activities on average, than the other listed age ranges. Higher-income households did more ticket or price based activities, while those with lower incomes were more likely to visit the library or casino. Households with Children under the age of 18 impacted what kinds of activities were frequented compared to those without children, and the data shows these include movies and sporting events. Finally, the last part of data splits activities by region. This shows how geography can influence what to do for leisure. Compared to all of the other regions, those in the East visited museums the most. Those in the West went to national parks and music events the most. Those in the Midwest went to libraries the most. Those in the South attended sporting events the most, but they were not that far ahead of the other regions.
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