Happiness vs. life satisfaction in United States
United States: Happiness vs. life satisfaction was 6.82 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Happiness vs. life satisfaction in United States, 2011–2025
Source: Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for happiness vs. life satisfaction in United States is 6.82, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 1.4% on the previous year and down 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, happiness vs. life satisfaction in United States peaked at 7.27 in 2011 and was at its lowest, 6.72, in 2024.
United States ranks 22nd of 157 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 7.04 | 6.89 | 7.27 | 8 |
| 2020s | 6.85 | 6.72 | 6.98 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More social development data for United States
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 457,647 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 3,667 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.913 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.826 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.571 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.51 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.826 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is happiness vs. life satisfaction in United States?
- Happiness vs. life satisfaction in United States was 6.82 in 2025, according to Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 7.27 in 2011.
- What is the lowest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.72 in 2024.
- How does United States rank for happiness vs. life satisfaction?
- United States ranks 22nd out of 157 countries with data for 2025.
- Is happiness vs. life satisfaction rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Happiness vs. life satisfaction. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average of survey responses. The survey question asks respondents their current position on a hypothetical ladder, where the best possible life for them is a 10, and the worst possible life is a 0.