Survey says: About half of America will be grilling this weekend

Give yourself a pat on the back, because after all that spring cleaning — neatly organizing the cellar and unearthing summer essentials like the grill — it’s finally Memorial Day Weekend, summer’s unofficial beginning.

About half of Americans plan to gather around a grill sometime over the three-day weekend, according to the Portland-based Digital Research Group.

That’s among the population where about 40 percent expect to travel away from home and the rest plan to stay put.

Among those staying put, about 22 percent who haven’t yet done all the cleaning they should (I raise my hand) are planning to do some work around the house over the weekend.

Of the share who are staying put over the weekend, about 35 percent of those said they don’t have the money for a weekend trip and another third said they’re interested in local events or activities.

About one in four of those staying put said they just don’t want to deal with the traffic or hassle of traveling.

The vast majority — 70 percent — plan to spend time with family or friends, which means a good deal of travel and a likely busy interstate. About 40 percent of Americans plan to travel over the weekend, based on the survey of 1,500 adults.

AAA forecasts holiday weekend travel will jump 2.7 percent this year, to 39.3 million people traveling, for a ride of about one million travelers. It’s the third consecutive year AAA has forecast an increase in Memorial Day weekend travel.

Darren Fishell

About Darren Fishell

Darren is a Portland-based reporter for the Bangor Daily News writing about the Maine economy and business. He's interested in putting economic data in context and finding the stories behind the numbers.