Who spends the most time mowing grass?

How much do you mow compared to other regions?

If we were to ask you what is the most popular irrigated crop in the U.S., you may think corn or wheat or soybeans, but the correct answer is lawn turf. That’s right, grass.

NASA took satellite images of all of the land in the lower 48 states and estimated that the area covered by lawns — home landscapes, greenways, public parks, golf courses — totals around 40 million acres, making it the nation’s most irrigated crop by area. It’s more irrigated land than farmers devote to corn, wheat and fruit trees combined.

“Turf  grasses, occupying 1.9% of the surface of the continental United States, would be the single largest irrigated crop in the country,” the government study concludes.

Who among us is spending the most amount of time mowing all that grass?

Using U.S. census data, a company called House Method crunched the numbers to find out. The company factored in average home lot sizes, the size of lawnmower decks, and the speed at which typical walk-behinds, zero-turns, and riding mowers travel to come up with some answers.

It turns out that homeowners in the northeast spend the most time mowing the lawn: around 98% more days than the average, no matter which type of lawnmower is used. No wonder. The average yard size in northeast states — at 0.30 acres — is the highest of any region in the country, more than double the national average according to House Method’s calculations of U.S. Census data.

It estimated that, depending on where you live and what type of lawnmower you use, homeowners can spend a total of up to 47 days of their lifetime cutting grass.

Folks in the Midwest spend the second most amount of time mowing the grass. Interestingly, government estimates conclude that Nebraska is the state with the most irrigated land in the country.

Homeowners in the South rank third in time spent mowing their lawns. Taking the average yard size of 0.14 acres and factoring in lawnmower size and speed, a person in a southern state will spend up to 0.6 days per year cutting grass, according to House Method.

The smallest average lots are found in western states, although California is second to Nebraska in total irrigated acreage.

Of course, no two lawn care enthusiasts are alike. The amount of time you spend on your lawn is unique to you. Some people like to putter around the yard over the weekend, some use every power tool they can find to make their landscape just so, while still others cut it and forget it until the next mow.

Tell us your story. How long do you spend cutting the grass? Let us know and we may feature it in an upcoming article on Joy of Mowing!