Story at a glance
- The 83 percent of Americans who report being satisfied with their personal lives is consistent with historical averages measured since 1979.
- Levels of satisfaction vary based on age, education level and marital status, among other factors.
- Results show income level has the greatest impact on Americans’ satisfaction with their personal lives overall.
Despite pressing national issues like rising costs of everyday items and heightened political polarization, most Americans say they’re happy with how their personal lives are going, a new Gallup poll shows.
The 83 percent who reported being at least somewhat satisfied with their lives is consistent with historical averages measured since 1979.
Although personal life satisfaction varies based on income, age, marital status and education level, between 81 percent and 90 percent of Americans are satisfied with their own family life, current housing situation, job, education, community and personal health.
Slightly lower levels — between 71 percent and 77 percent — said the same about the amount of leisure time they have, their household income and standard of living.
Older adults tend to be more satisfied with their personal life than middle-age and younger adults, while married adults are significantly more satisfied than unmarried adults across all dimensions except personal health.
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College graduates are slightly more likely to report satisfaction with their personal life than those without college degrees, although no differences were found for satisfaction regarding jobs, amount of leisure time or family life.
“Even as the American public is largely dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., they are broadly satisfied with the direction their personal life is taking,” report authors wrote. An additional Gallup poll carried out last month found just 23 percent of Americans are satisfied with the state of the nation.
Since 1979, Americans’ satisfaction level with their personal lives has ranged from 73 percent to 90 percent, according to Gallup’s data. That record high of 90 percent was measured in 2020, just before COVID-19 took hold of the nation.
A record low was recorded in the summer of 1979 during the energy crisis. Levels also dipped below 80 percent during the early 1980s and early 1990s during challenging economic times, data show.
They also fell in the years following the Great Recession of 2007-09. In November 2011, 78 percent of Americans were satisfied with their personal lives. That total rose slightly to 79 percent in December 2013.
Sixty-six percent of respondents in the current survey said they’re very satisfied with their family life. Majorities also reported being satisfied with their current housing, education, work and community as a place to live.
However, just 30 percent of Americans report being very satisfied with their household income. Thirty-seven percent said the same about their standard of living. These lower rates could be attributed to high inflation seen throughout 2022, report authors wrote.
Results also show income “has more of an effect than any other major demographic factor on Americans’ satisfaction with their personal life and with most specific life aspects,” they said.
Individuals with high incomes are more likely to report satisfaction in all aspects of life except the amount of leisure time they have, compared with lower-income adults.
While 78 percent of those with incomes above $100,000 per year are very satisfied with their current housing, just 46 percent of those who make less than $40,000 said the same.
Compared with findings from 2019, high levels of satisfaction fell the most in areas like personal health, family life and community as a place to live.
Findings are based on telephone interviews with more than 1,000 adults conducted in January 2023. Gallup’s margin of error was 4 percentage points. Among employed adults surveyed, the margin of error was 5 percentage points.
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