Satisfaction with Current Life
Average evaluation of the population’s current life with 10 being the best possible life today and zero being the worst possible life today.
Why did we include this measure?
Perhaps more than any other measure, this one tells us how Americans feel about their own current state of affairs. This measure is about how we feel about our own lives.
How does the US rank globally?
- Specific Measure: (Same as above.)
(Source: Same as above).
- Percentage of countries the US outperforms: 70% (out of 44 countries)
- International Rank Trend: Worsening
National Trend Worsening
What do the data show?
On a scale of 0‒10, we rate ourselves about 6.7 in the most recent data. This means that, on average, we are closer to our best lives than our worst, but also that most people are not living their best lives now. We rank just below Slovenia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. (Finland ranks first.) Our satisfaction with our current lives has also been steadily declining since 2006, the first year we can measure, and declining relative to other nations.
What might explain these patterns?
Current life satisfaction worsened abruptly in the 2007‒2009 range in ways that have persisted. Two major events happened around this time. The first was the 2008 Great Recession when people their lost jobs and lost their homes to foreclosure, forcing many to move to other neighborhoods. But the fact that the numbers did not bounce back after the recession suggests that a second factor was at work. The rise of smartphones, which first became widespread in 2007, is one possible explanation. Isolating the effects of smartphones is difficult, however, and researchers are still exploring this and whether any other factors suddenly changed at the same time.
For more information about data sources and treatments, download the Data Notes.