Black Americans find most joy in family, friends and faith: Pew

But income plays a role in just how much joy these activities can spark.

by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech | Feb. 01, 2024

Holding their 13-month-old son, Jesiah, Wilfred Jamar Gordon, center, and Halle Horn are seen in their Nashville, Tenn., home on Friday, Oct. 14, 2005, after fleeing New Orleans before hurricane Katrina hit. Nearly 800 displaced college students from Gulf Coast institutions have enrolled at Tennessee colleges and universities. Dillard University nursing student Halle Horn said she was already planning to attend graduate school at Tennessee State University in Nashville, but Katrina pushed her plans up. (AP Photo/The Tennessean, Eric Parsons)

Story at a glance

A new Pew Research Center survey found that most Black American adults get the most joy in life from their family, friends and faith.

Black Americans enjoy those things regardless of income level.

But wealthier Black Americans are more likely to say they enjoy these things than poorer Black adults.

More than 80 percent of Black adults in the U.S. said they were at least somewhat happy, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Thursday.

Black Americans regardless of income find the most joy in spending time with friends and family as well as practicing their faith and traveling, according to the survey’s findings from 4,736 Black adults.

But overall, Black Americans with higher family incomes are more likely to be happy with 54 percent reporting to be happy compared to 26 percent of Black Americans with low family incomes, the survey found.

There are even starker differences along socioeconomic lines for activities that cost money like traveling, sports, and creating or experiencing art.

Almost 90 percent of Black Americans with higher incomes say they enjoy spending time with family and friends, slightly more than the 83 percent of Black adults with mid-level incomes who say the same.

Meanwhile, 74 percent of Black American adults with lower incomes say they find joy in spending time with family and friends.

Only 48 percent of Black adults with lower incomes say they find joy in traveling while 64 percent of Black Americans with middle incomes and 76 percent of those with upper incomes.

And 36 percent of Black American adults say they enjoy taking part in sports or exercising. However, 56 percent of high-income Black adults and 45 percent of Black adults with mid-level incomes say they find joy in physical activities like sports or working out, the survey shows.