Married Americans more likely to be thriving: Gallup

More than half of married U.S. adults surveyed rated themselves as thriving in 2023

by Theresa Maher | Mar. 22, 2024

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New data from Gallup shows married adults in the U.S. were 16 percent more likely to be thriving than those who never married in 2023.

Married adults were also more likely to be thriving than divorced adults or those who lived with a domestic partner in 2023.

On a scale of 0-10, Gallup classified those who rated their current lives at 7 and 8 or more five years down the line as thriving.

Married adults in the U.S. are more likely to be thriving than those who have never been married, are divorced or live with a domestic partner, according to newly-published data from Gallup.

In 2023, married adults aged 25 to 50 were 16 percent more likely to be thriving compared to those who never married, at 61 and 45 percent, respectively.

From 2009 to 2023, married adults were consistently more likely to be thriving than those who were never married by double-digit percentages.

The higher well-being of married adults compared to those who never married applied to men and women across all major racial-ethnic groups. Marriage’s impact on well-being for U.S. adults also appeared unaffected by education level and age, according to Gallup.

Groups were also divided into divorced adults and those in a domestic partnership. Married adults aged 25 to 50 were also 16 percent more likely to rate themselves as thriving compared to divorced adults in 2023, and 13 percent more likely to do so than those in domestic partnerships, at 48 percent.

Gallup collected the data from surveys of U.S. adults, in which respondents rated their current and future lives on a scale of 0-10, called the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale.

Gallup classifies Americans as “thriving,” “struggling” or “suffering” according to how they rate their lives. Respondents who rate their current life a 7 and their life five years down the line at 8 or higher, are considered “thriving.”

Data from 2009 to 2019 are based on the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index, and data from March 2020 to November 2023 are based on the Gallup Panel. Both are types of surveys, but conducted via different methods.

The sample size for the data on well-being by marital status among U.S. adults aged 25-50 is 795,904 U.S. adults. Gallup surveys approximately 5,000 U.S. adults each quarter, and says it has conducted more than 3 million such surveys since 2008.