Holidays with paid time off in the United States


In the United States there are a number of observed holidays where employees receive paid time off. The labor force in the United States comprises about 62% of the general population. In the United States, 97% of the private sector businesses determine what days this sector of the population gets paid time off, according to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management. The following holidays are observed by the majority of US businesses with paid time off: New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, the day after known as Black Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas. There are also numerous holidays on the state and local level that are observed to varying degrees.

Holiday listing as paid time off

This list of holidays is based on the official list of federal holidays by year from the US Government. The holidays however are at the discretion of employers whose statistics are measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another list from the Society for Human Resource Management shows actual percentages of employers offering paid time off for each holiday. The term "major holiday" coincides for those holidays that 90% or more of employers offered paid time off.
Date*Official namePercentage of Americans celebrating**Percentage of businesses offering paid time offRemarks
January 1 New Year's Day72%96%Celebrates beginning of the Gregorian calendar year. Festivities include counting down to 12:00 midnight on the preceding night, New Year's Eve, often with fireworks display and party. The ball drop at Times Square in New York City has become a national New Year's festivity. Traditional end of Christmas and holiday season.
January 15–21 Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.N/A34–38%Honors Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leader, who was actually born on January 15, 1929; combined with other holidays in several states. Some cities and municipalities hold parades; and more recently, the 1994 King Holiday and Service Act, which was passed to encourage Americans to transform the King Holiday into a day of citizen action volunteer service, has gained in popularity.
January 20 or 21Inauguration DayN/A0%Celebrates the United States presidential inauguration, every 4 years. While this is a federal holiday, only federal employees in the Washington, DC area are entitled to a day off. Only Washington, DC observes this day besides the federal government.
February 15–21 Washington's Birthday52%34–35%Washington's Birthday was first declared a federal holiday by an 1879 act of Congress. The Uniform Holidays Act, 1968, shifted the date of the commemoration of Washington's Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday in February. Because of this, combined with the fact that President Lincoln's birthday falls on February 12, many people now refer to this holiday as "Presidents' Day" and consider it a day honoring all American presidents. However, neither the Uniform Holidays Act nor any subsequent law changed the name of the holiday from Washington's Birthday to Presidents' Day.
May 25–31 Memorial Day21%95%Honors the nation's war dead from the Civil War onwards; marks the unofficial beginning of the summer season.
June 19 Juneteenth0-12%17-18%Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas — two months after the Confederacy had surrendered. That was also about years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Southern states.
July 4 Independence Day79%97%Celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from British rule, also called the Fourth of July or simply "The Fourth". Fireworks celebration are held in many cities throughout the country.
September 1–7 Labor Day53%95%Celebrates the achievements of workers and the labor movement; marks the unofficial end of the summer season.
October 8–14 Columbus Day8%13–16%Honors Christopher Columbus, the first European to land in mainland Americas after Leif Erikson. In a growing number of locations this day is observed as Indigenous Peoples' Day, in honor of the Native Americans who lived in the Americas long before Columbus "discovered" the area.
November 11 Veterans Day43%16–21%Honors all veterans of the United States armed forces. It is observed on November 11 to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918.
November 22–28 Thanksgiving Day87%97%Traditionally celebrates the giving of thanks for the autumn harvest. Traditionally includes the sharing of a turkey dinner.
December 25 Christmas Day90–95%94%The most widely celebrated holiday of the Christian year, Christmas is observed as a commemoration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

An academic year typically spans from early fall to early summer, with two or three months of summer vacation marking the end of the year. K-12 public schools generally observe local, state, and federal holidays, plus additional days off around Thanksgiving, the period from before Christmas until after New Year's Day, a spring break and sometimes a winter break. Two or three days per year are sometimes devoted to professional development for teachers and students have the day off.
Most colleges and universities divide the school year into two semesters. The fall semester often begins the day after Labor Day in early September and runs until mid-December. The spring semester typically starts in the middle or end of January and runs until May. Winter and summer classes might be offered in January and May–August. Major federal, state, and local holidays are often observed, including the day after and usually before Thanksgiving. Spring break is usually a week in March or early April, and in elementary and secondary school and college party culture traditionally involves a warm-weather trip.
Unscheduled weather-related cancellations and emergency cancellations can also affect school calendars.
When taking summer school or summer camp schedules into account, the Independence Day holiday on July4 is usually a scheduled holiday observance for which the summer program closes.

Government sector holidays: federal, state, and local government

The federal government sector labor force consisted of about 2,729,000 of the total labor force of 150,539,900, which is about 2% of the total labor force or about 1% of the total population. In addition, state and local governments consist of another 19,134,000 bringing the total government sector employees to about 15% of the total labor force. This sector of the population is entitled to paid time off designated as federal holidays by Congress in Title V of the United States Code. Both federal and state government employees generally observe the same federal holidays.

Federally regulated agencies: banks and financial institutions

US banks generally observe the federal holidays because of their reliance on the U.S. Federal Reserve for certain activities such as wire transfers and ACH transactions. For example, JP Morgan Chase observes all federal holidays except Columbus Day, while U.S. Bank observes all of them.
The New York Stock Exchange also closely follows the federal holidays except for Columbus Day. However, the agency also has extra holidays on the day before Independence Day and Good Friday.

Legal holidays by states and political divisions of the United States

In general, most state governments observe the same holidays that the federal government observes. However, while that is true for most states, every state includes and omits holidays to fit the culture relevant to its population. "All federal holidays" in state observations below excludes Inauguration Day, which is only observed by Washington, DC, and federal employees in that area.
HolidayNumber of states observed with government offices closedRemarks
New Year's Day
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day		50These holidays are unanimously observed by the state governments of all 50 states.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day45Signed into law in 1983, but not observed by all states until 2000, with Utah officially observing as a paid state holiday. Five states observe this day using alternate name "Civil Rights Day" or holiday is combined to also honor Robert E. Lee.
Washington's Birthday 38Alternatively observed separately as George Washington's or Lincoln's Birthday.
Columbus Day23Fewer than half the states recognize Columbus Day.
Day after Thanksgiving18Observed by Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
Good Friday13Observed by Connecticut, Delaware, Guam, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Tennessee and the US Virgin Islands.
Christmas Eve12Observed by Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Election Day10Observed by Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island
Confederate Memorial Day7Observed by Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas
Day after Christmas6Observed by Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and the US Virgin Islands.
Lincoln's Birthday5Observed by Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, and New York
New Year's Eve4Observed by Kentucky, Michigan, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.