Columbia, Md. – September 30, 2026 -- A new survey from One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning finds Atlanta is the most punctual major U.S. market, while New York ranks last among 10 cities studied, with traffic cited as the top reason Americans fall behind schedule.
Respondents run late by an average of 10 minutes, with traffic the biggest culprit
Traffic or transportation delays account for 38% of lateness overall and 39% of late arrivals to work specifically. For flights and travel, 23% blame underestimating travel time, while 20% say distractions or losing track of time cause them to be late to family events.
Atlanta tops the ranking; New York residents report the longest delays
The full ranking from most to least punctual: Atlanta, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Tampa-St. Pete, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Houston, and New York. Atlanta residents are also most likely to schedule annual preventive HVAC maintenance, at 42%. New York respondents report the longest average delay at 13 minutes, yet 91% say it's extremely or very important for home service professionals to arrive within the estimated window -- the highest share among the 10 markets.
Frustration thresholds vary sharply by city
In San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, 46% of respondents say they become frustrated within 15 minutes after a service window ends, compared with just 21% in Tampa-St. Pete.
85% expect home service pros to arrive on time, ranking HVAC technicians second only to doctors
Steve Clemente, President and COO of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, said punctuality reflects respect for people's trust and plans, tying it to the company's on-time service guarantee.
Two-thirds of homeowners skip annual HVAC maintenance
Only 33% of respondents schedule professional HVAC service annually as a preventive measure, while 38% wait until their system breaks down or have never scheduled maintenance at all. Among those who delay service, 22% say their system seems to be working fine, and 14% are trying to save money.
The survey was conducted online by Prodege from August 13-23, 2026, among 1,124 U.S. homeowners aged 18 and older, including an oversample of at least 100 respondents in each targeted market. The margin of error for the 200-person nationally representative sample is plus or minus 6 percentage points at a 90% confidence level.