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Americans' Life Ratings Reach Record High by Dan Witters and Sangeeta Agrawal [yiqoomfzdkqxv_df75p28w] Story Highlights * Current life satisfaction fully recovers, now exceeds 2019 levels * Significant daily worry and stress drop to pre-COVID estimates * Daily enjoyment is improved, boredom reduced WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The percentage of Americans who evaluate their lives well enough to be considered "thriving" on Gallup's Live Evaluation Index reached 59.2% in June, the highest in over 13 years of ongoing measurement and exceeding the previous high of 57.3% from September 2017. During the initial COVID-19 outbreak and economic shutdown, the thriving percentage plunged nearly 10 percentage points to 46.4% by late April 2020, tying the record low last measured during the Great Recession. [hhnnjuv8m0] Line graph. The percentage of Americans who evaluate their lives highly enough to be considered thriving from 2008 until June 2021. Currently, a record-high 59.2% of Americans rate their lives highly enough to be considered thriving. The most recent results, captured June 14-20, 2021, are based on 4,820 U.S. adults surveyed by web as a part of the Gallup Panel, a probability-based, non-opt-in panel of about 120,000 adults across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For its Life Evaluation Index, Gallup 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 0 to 10, based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. 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. In a broader context, according to the Gallup State of the Global Workplace: 2021 report, the percentage of U.S. workers considered to be thriving was estimated at 58% based on 2018-2020 data collection, which ranks 14^th when compared with 18 Western European countries plus Canada. The percentage of Americans estimated to be "suffering" has remained steadily low throughout the pandemic and in line with pre-COVID estimates. In June, 3.4% of respondents were classified as suffering. Satisfaction With Current Life Steadily Climbs in 2021 The major drop in the thriving percentage in 2020 was characterized by a severe drop in current life satisfaction ratings. By late April, the percentage of U.S. adults who rated their current lives a "7" or higher had plunged about 11 percentage points, even as the anticipated life satisfaction five years forward had improved. As with the earlier decline in the thriving percentage, its subsequent rebound is driven primarily by changes in current life satisfaction. Notably, even as current life satisfaction has increased in recent months, anticipated life satisfaction remains elevated compared with pre-COVID levels. The rapid recovery of current life satisfaction, coupled with the sustained elevated level of anticipated life satisfaction, has fueled the thriving percentage to its current heights. Sat_trend Line graph. The percentages of Americans who rate their satisfaction with their current lives from 7-10 and the percentages of Americans who rate their satisfaction with their anticipated lives 8-10. Currently, 70.5% of Americans anticipate they will rate their lives 8-10 in five years, while 69% rate their lives 7-10 right now. Spikes in Daily Stress and Worry in 2020 Retreat to Pre-COVID Levels In addition to the general life ratings, Gallup tracks whether Americans have recently experienced specific emotions, including stress and worry, in their daily lives. The percentage of people who reported experiencing significant stress and worry "a lot of the day yesterday" showed unprecedented increases in the first half of March 2020, with stress rising 14 percentage points to 60% and worry rising 20 points to 58%. These spikes were about four times greater than what was measured over the course of 2008 as a result of the Great Recession. Reports of experiencing these emotions have subsequently fallen to pre-pandemic levels in both cases. Daily stress eased to 45% in January and has remained in the mid-40s since, while daily worry has declined further since the start of the year, to just 38% in April through June, down from 43% in January. Stress_Worry Line graph. The percentages of Americans who reported they experienced stress and the percentages who reported they experienced worry a lot of the day yesterday. Currently, 44% of Americans report they experienced stress a lot of the day yesterday and 38% say they experienced worry a lot of yesterday. Significant daily enjoyment has also markedly improved, although to a lesser degree than the declines seen in worry and stress. In 2018-2019, about 80% of U.S. adults reported significant enjoyment the day before, which plunged to 61% at the onset of the pandemic. By June, enjoyment was back up to 73% of the adult population. Enjoyment2 Line graph. The percentage of Americans who report having felt joy a lot of yesterday. Currently, 73% of Americans report having experienced enjoyment a lot of the day yesterday. Meanwhile, another daily experience that has declined over the course of the pandemic is boredom. Close to half of adults reported this emotion in late March 2020, peaking at 47% in mid-April. As the economy started to reopen last spring and social distancing has eased significantly with the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, that figure has declined to 26% in June. Implications The marked improvement of key wellbeing metrics thus far in 2021 is due to a variety of factors, likely led by the widespread availability and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines. By the end of June, about 54% of all Americans (including younger children for whom no vaccines have yet been approved) have had at least one dose, including 93% of those aged 65 and older and 60% of those aged 18-64. Dovetailing with the rollout of the vaccine is the economic reopening, which has occurred unevenly nationwide but is now the case in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The broader economic recovery has also been inconsistent. June's job report of 850,000 new jobs was an improvement over the two prior months, both of which fell below most economists' expectations. And while wages are rapidly rising, the U.S. economy still has over 7 million fewer jobs than in February 2020 amidst a problematic labor shortage. Beyond the vaccination rollout and improving economic conditions, though, is the critical psychological benefit of renewed social interaction. Reuniting in person with family and friends and joining in large gatherings of people such as at sporting events is a crucial part of social wellbeing. Past research has shown that those who spend six to seven hours a day in social time experience about one-fifth the stress and worry on any given day as those with no social time at all. These effects are likely on display as the levels of these negative emotions have improved to pre-pandemic levels in recent months. Whether or not the recent positive trends in wellbeing are sustained remains to be seen. The concerning propagation of the Delta variant in the U.S., which now makes up over one-half of new confirmed cases nationwide, has the potential to slow social and economic progress. The Delta variant and other mutated forms of the coronavirus, such as the Gamma variant, have led health experts to fear a fall surge that could again lead to partial economic, social and school shutdowns in areas with low vaccination rates. Based on learnings from 2020, such occurrences could lead to another downturn in wellbeing nationally, though likely not at the same level of magnitude suffered by Americans in the spring of 2020 given the sizable extent of the vaccinations in many parts of the country. Find out more about emotional wellbeing around the world in Gallup's recent State of the Global Workplace: 2021 report and the coming 2021 Global Emotions report on July 20. Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the most recent assessment of the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in the U.S. To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter. Learn more about how the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index works. Learn more about how the Gallup Panel works. Survey Methods Results from the most recent survey conducted from June 14-20, May 17-23, and Apr. 19-25, 2021, are based on responses (respectively) from 4,802, 3,731 and 3,572 adults, ages 18+, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia as a part of the Gallup Panel. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is about +2.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Results from Jul. 31 to Sept. 3, 2020, are based on a survey conducted by mail and web as a part of the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index, with a random sample of 2,321 adults, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. About 80% of all surveys completed in 2018 and 2019 were done so by mail. Beginning in March, previous samples of 3,905, 3,759, 4,098, 3,089, 2,954, 2,963, 2,691 10,779, 11,221, 16,584, 4,357, 9,155, 9,082, 20,006, 9,317, and 33,451 dating to October 2019 are also from the Panel. Results from January 2018 through August 2019 are based on surveys conducted by mail and web as a part of the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index, with a random sample of 9,645 adults in 2019, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and another 115,929 in 2018. About 80% of all surveys completed in 2018 and 2019 were done so by mail. Prior years of measurement were based on telephone interviews conducted daily from Jan. 2-Dec. 30 of each year with roughly equally sized samples each month. In 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014, a total of 160,498; 177,192; 177,281; and 176,702 interviews were completed, respectively. Each daily sample of national adults for data collected between Jan. 2, 2014, and Sept. 1, 2015, comprised 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents. Each daily sample from Sept. 1, 2015-Dec. 30, 2016, comprised 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents. Daily samples in 2017 comprised 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents. Additional minimum quotas by time zone and within region are included in the sampling approach. Samples are weighted to correct for unequal selection probability, non-response, and double coverage of landline and cell users in the two sampling frames. They are also weighted to match the national demographics of gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, population density, and phone status (cell phone-only/ landline only/both and cell phone mostly). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2019 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older U.S. population. Population density targets are based on the 2010 census. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting. The means of data collection (e.g., mail/web versus phone) can result in differing estimates for some metrics in randomized large population polling. Gallup has extensively studied these effects and has determined that Life Evaluation (% thriving) is comparable across modes, thus effectively preserving past trending without need for an adjustment due to the change in mode. Comparisons of national weighted estimates from samples that fielded at similar time periods between Gallup's National Panel of Households and the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index demonstrated highly convergent results with statistically insignificant differences. Related Topics Include: USA All Gallup Headlines COVID-19 Gallup Panel Life Satisfaction Wellbeing Access Crucial Data for Your Research Search, examine, compare and export nearly a century of primary data. Learn More about Access Crucial Data for Your Research Subscribe to the Gallup News brief and real time alerts. Stay up to date with our latest insights. 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