WASHINGTON, D.C. — The percentage of U.S. adults aged 18 to 29 who evaluate their lives well enough to be considered “thriving” in Gallup’s Life Evaluation Index is 44% thus far in 2026, which is on pace through the first three quarters of the year to be 20 percentage points lower than the high of 64% measured in 2010. Most of the erosion has occurred since 2019. Following a modest decline over the course of the 2010s to 57% in 2019, a major drop to 39% occurred amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. After hitting that low point, the thriving rate for this group partially rebounded to 51% in 2023 before falling again.
Adults aged 30 to 44 show a similar decline. The percentage who are thriving among this group is 45% through the first three quarters of 2026, compared with a high of 62% in 2016 and 2017. Those aged 45 to 64 have not dropped as much as younger groups, but their 46% thriving rate to date in 2026 matches their low from 2008.
In contrast, Americans aged 65 and older show higher life evaluations than in the past, climbing fairly steadily from 38% in 2008 to 53% thus far in 2026, matching their record high from 2021.
The 2026 estimates are based on three quarterly surveys conducted by web in February, May and August, with a total of 15,156 U.S. adults as part of the , a probability-based panel encompassing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These results are part of the 扣扣传媒National Health and Well-Being Index.
For its Life Evaluation Index, 扣扣传媒classifies Americans as "thriving," "struggling" or "suffering" according to how they rate their current and future lives on a ladder scale with steps numbered from zero to 10, based on the . Those who rate their current life a 7 or higher and their anticipated life in five years an 8 or higher are classified as thriving. These results from 扣扣传媒are included in a on life evaluation in collaboration with .
Tracking the same generational cohorts over time reveals useful information about how the thriving rate has changed. Among those currently aged 34 to 46, the thriving rate is now 46%, compared with 64% for the same birth cohort in 2010, when they constituted the 18-to-29 age group. This indicates that life ratings for this age cohort have declined as they have aged, even as the young adults who have come after them — today’s 18- to 29-year-olds — are starting off at a much lower thriving level than their predecessors did.
Key Aspects of Wellbeing Associated With Drop in Thriving Rate
About two-thirds of the decline in thriving among young adults has occurred just since 2019, when the thriving rate stood at 57%. An examination of the Well-Being Index metrics most closely related to life evaluations has revealed several key factors behind the 13-point drop since then. An increase in the depression rate, a deterioration in the quality of close relationships, a major reduction in daily experiences of enjoyment, and a significant corrosion in feeling active and productive each day may explain the reasons behind the decline. In addition, there have been substantial drops in being satisfied with living standards, having leaders who create enthusiasm about the future, and reaching personal goals.
Those aged 30 to 44 show patterns similar to their younger counterparts. Key aspects of the decline in the thriving rate since 2019 for this group include:
- currently having or being treated for depression: up 15 points to 37%
- having daily experiences of significant enjoyment: down 16 points to 63%
- having a leader who creates enthusiasm for the future: down 14 points to 29%
- feeling active and productive every day: down 13 points to 38%
- being proud of community: down 13 points to 40%
Older Americans Steadily Improve, Defying Broader Long-Term Trends
In contrast to the sweeping declines among age groups younger than 65, those aged 65 and older have shown resilience, with slow but steady improvement in the thriving rate. Unlike their younger counterparts, wellbeing among these older Americans did not decline during the pandemic — and it has grown since then.
The main reasons behind this trend in recent years may be linked to increased financial security and accumulated wealth. Having enough money “to do everything you want to do” (59% agreement among those aged 65 and older) has risen considerably since 2019, and not worrying about money in the past week has risen 10 points to 67%. Experiencing food insecurity at least once in the past 12 months has been cut nearly in half, to 6%. These factors are all related to feeling safe and secure, which has, in turn, risen nine points to 79%.
Marginal improvements in diagnoses of chronic conditions may also be playing a role, with both high blood pressure and diabetes now being reported at lower rates than seven years ago. And visiting the dentist — which is strongly linked to higher wellbeing — is also considerably higher today than in 2019.
Implications
The substantial decline in wellbeing among U.S. adults aged 18 to 29 and, to a somewhat lesser extent, those aged 30 to 44 is likely driven by a confluence of events, many of which have become more dire since the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief among these factors is the rise of clinical depression and loneliness (which has been particularly acute among younger men). These core mental health issues have become a substantial — and defining — issue for younger U.S. adults in the post-COVID era.
Other issues are more economic in nature, including housing affordability, which has disproportionately affected younger Americans and is linked to worse life outcomes. Similarly, increasing fears of losing jobs to AI disproportionately hit those under the age of 45, as does the rising job market pessimism, particularly among those with college degrees. And about half of those aged 18 to 49 doubt that Medicare and Social Security will be available in 10 years’ time — far more than other age groups and likely adding to financial uncertainties. Political and social trust, too, is eroding, with just 14% of those aged 18 to 34 reporting that they are “extremely proud” to be an American, down 10 percentage points since 2025.
In contrast, among those aged 65 and older, the steadily improving thriving rate shows how changes in wellbeing affect age groups differently. Improvements in financial wellbeing among older adults since 2019 — when their thriving rate was still just 45% — constitute a substantial part of the explanation. The already among baby boomers (currently aged 62 to 80) has intensified, with median household net worth reaching record highs and total generational wealth increasing significantly. This group is also likely insulated from many of the stressors currently hampering working-age adults and those with children living at home, including affordable housing, basic household expenses, career instability and job market anxiety, economic precarity, and health insurance costs. Mental health, too, is much less of an inhibitor of life ratings. These older Americans are the only ones to see their depression rate drop in recent years — it is currently under 10% and less than half the rate of those younger than 45.
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