FREE TOOL · LEAVE AND PTO
How many PTO days is normal? Check yours
An offer letter says 15 days. Is that good? Enter your days and your years at the company: the checker places them among US private industry workers, using the government's own survey.
In the middle of the pack for this tenure.
- Your band
- 15–19 days
- Workers who get fewer days
- 40%
- Workers who get more
- 28%
- BLS average at this tenure
- 16 days
Counting the 20% of private workers with no paid vacation, 52% of all private industry workers get less than you.
Summary to paste into Slack or an email:
Vacation days by years of service, every band
Percent of US private industry workers with paid vacation in each band of annual vacation days, March 2026. Your row and band are marked “you” once you enter a number.
| Service | under 5 days | 5–9 days | 10–14 days | 15–19 days | 20–24 days | 25+ days | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| After 1 year | 7% | 29% | 32% | 21% | 9% | 2% | 11 days |
| After 5 years | 3% | 10% | 27% | 32% | 19% | 9% | 16 days |
| After 10 years | 3% | 8% | 15% | 30% | 24% | 21% | 18 days |
| After 20 years | 2% | 8% | 12% | 19% | 26% | 34% | 20 days |
How the checker works
- Data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' National Compensation Survey, March 2026: how many paid vacation days private industry workers get after 1, 5, 10 and 20 years of service, in six bands. These are the shares among workers who have paid vacation.
- Your tenure. You are compared with the last BLS step you have reached: 7 years uses “after 5 years”. In your first year you are compared with “after 1 year”, the first step BLS publishes.
- Hours. Hours are divided by your workday: 80 hours at 8 hours a day are 10 days.
- One PTO bank. The bands count vacation only. If your days cover sick leave too, the checker takes off the BLS average of 7 paid sick days first.
- Exact, not smoothed. BLS gives bands, not single days, so the checker says which band you are in and how many workers sit below and above it. It does not invent a percentile inside a band. BLS rounds each band, so a row can add up to 101%.
- Leave holidays out. Paid holidays are a separate benefit in the survey.
Who gets paid vacation at all
80% of private industry workers had paid vacation in March 2026 (BLS Table 6). The gap is wide by industry and by company size (BLS factsheet, Charts 2 and 3).
| Industry | Workers with paid vacation |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 96% |
| Financial activities | 95% |
| Information | 94% |
| Professional and business services | 86% |
| Construction | 83% |
| Trade, transportation and utilities | 82% |
| Education and health services | 80% |
| Leisure and hospitality | 45% |
| Size | Workers with paid vacation |
|---|---|
| 1 to 49 workers | 71% |
| 50 to 99 workers | 74% |
| 100 to 499 workers | 89% |
| 500 workers or more | 91% |
What the averages mean for a policy, with the access gaps by job and pay: PTO days by industry, BLS 2026. Turning an allowance into a balance per pay period: the PTO accrual calculator.
Running leave for a team in Jira?
OutSync runs leave requests and approvals inside Jira and Confluence with live balances, half days, a yearly allowance and an accrual policy. Approved leave shows in Who’s out on the board, and can sync to the team’s Google Calendar. Its accrual policy is one default for the whole organisation; it does not step up with each person's tenure.
Frequently asked questions
Is 15 days of PTO good?
It depends on how long you have been there. After 1 year, 68% of US private industry workers with paid vacation get fewer than 15 days, so 15 is generous. After 5 years it is typical: 40% get fewer, 28% get more. After 10 years, 45% get 20 days or more. BLS National Compensation Survey, March 2026.
Is 80 hours of PTO a year good?
At 8 hours a day, 80 hours are 10 days. After 1 year that is the most common band, 10 to 14 days (32% of workers with paid vacation; 36% get fewer). After 5 years it is low: 60% get 15 days or more.
How many PTO days is normal in the US?
In private industry, the BLS average is 11 paid vacation days after 1 year of service, 16 after 5, 18 after 10 and 20 after 20, plus about 7 paid sick days. 20% of private industry workers have no paid vacation at all (March 2026).
Does it work by industry?
BLS publishes the day bands for private industry as a whole, not per industry, so the checker compares you with all private industry workers. What BLS does publish by industry is access: 96% of manufacturing workers have paid vacation, against 45% in leisure and hospitality. Both tables are on this page.
I have one PTO bank for vacation and sick days. How do I compare?
Tick "one bank for vacation and sick days". The checker takes off the BLS average of 7 paid sick days before comparing, because the bands count vacation only. Half of private industry workers (50%) have such a consolidated leave plan.
Should I count public holidays?
No. BLS counts paid holidays separately from vacation days, so leave holidays out of the number you enter.
Is what I type sent anywhere?
No. The numbers stay in your browser: the page makes no network request and stores nothing. It also works offline once loaded.