Annual share of U.S. adults who say they are "thriving," by marital status
Surveys of over 795k U.S. adults from 2009 to 2023
Money can't buy happiness, the old adage says. But maybe combining it with marriage can help.
Why it matters: Marital status is a stronger predictor of American adult wellbeing than education, race, age and gender, according to newly released data from the Institute for Family Studies and Gallup.
- Last year, married adults between 25 and 50 years old were 17 percentage points more likely to be thriving than adults who never married.
- Household income adjustment has the biggest sway on wellbeing for individuals, and typically rises after marriage when a couple pools their resources.
- Married women and men both see a 20-percentage-point advantage compared to unmarried same-xes peers.
- "A married adult who did not attend high school evaluates life higher, on average, than an unmarried adult with a graduate degree, after adjusting for gender, race, and age," the report said.
- The marriage rate over the last 50 years dropped by nearly 60%, and divorce is now more widely accepted in the U.S.
- Separately, more Americans are living alone, as the country faces an isolation and loneliness crisis.
- People with character attributes linked to happiness, like agreeableness, emotional stability and conscientiousness, may be more likely to seek out marriage, according to Gallup.
- Even when controlling for household income, "married people remain significantly more likely to be thriving," the report said.
