By this stage of the year, it wouldn't be surprising if most Americans who made New Year’s resolutions to exercise more or save money already had abandoned them. But a new poll from YouGov finds that among the people who made New Year’s resolutions or set a goal for 2024, most were still sticking to them as of the beginning of March.
Americans' expectations of how well people have stuck to their resolutions fall short of the (self-reported) reality. Only 3% of Americans think that the people who made 2024 resolutions generally have stuck to them entirely. 21% believe they have mostly stuck to them, 45% suspect they’ve mostly given up on them, and 9% think they have given up on them entirely.
People who made 2024 resolutions are far more likely than those who didn’t to say they think people who made resolutions have mostly or entirely stuck to them (46% vs. 11%).
Among people who have made New Year’s resolutions, the majority say they are still sticking to their resolutions a few months into 2024. 18% say they’ve stuck to their resolutions entirely while 53% say they have mostly stuck to them. Another 18% say they’ve mostly given up on their resolutions and just 2% say they’ve given up on them entirely. 10% are not sure where they stand with their resolutions.
Americans who made the most popular 2024 resolutions are about as likely as all makers of resolutions to say they're sticking with them. Among people who resolved to exercise more — the most common resolution of 2024 — 18% say they’ve stuck to their resolutions entirely and 51% say they’ve mostly stuck to their resolutions. Another common resolution was to save more money; among those who named this as one of their 2024 goals, 16% say they’ve mostly stuck to their resolutions and 57% say they’ve mostly stuck to them. Among Americans who resolved to improve their physical health, 16% say they’ve stuck to their resolutions entirely and 59% say they’ve mostly stuck to them.
Americans who made 2024 resolutions are feeling optimistic about keeping them. 22% think they will have stuck to their resolutions entirely by the end of the year while 49% think they will have mostly stuck to them. Fewer (21%) think they will have mostly given up on their resolutions and 2% think they will have given up on them entirely.
38% of Americans made New Year’s resolutions for 2024, with adults under 30 being the most likely to do so (66%). 46% of 30- to 44-year-olds, 27% of 45- to 64-year-olds, and 17% of Americans 65 and older also made New Year’s resolutions for the year.
These numbers are similar to the results of a YouGov poll conducted in December 2023 that asked Americans if they were planning to make New Year’s resolutions for 2024. At the time, 34% of Americans — including 52% of 18- to 29-year-olds, 44% of 30- to 44-year-olds, 27% of 45- to 64-year-olds, and 18% of those 65 and older — said they were planning to make resolutions.
The most common resolution Americans made for 2024 was exercising more, with 20% who name this as a goal they set for the year, according to the March 2024 poll that included 20 options. 17% have resolved to save more money; the same percentage (17%) have resolved to improve their physical health. Other common resolutions include eating healthier (16%), being happy (15%), improving mental health (13%), learning something new (12%), and losing weight (12%). (The poll provided for the possibility of people making two or more resolutions.)
Among adults under 30, the most common 2024 resolutions are exercising more (38%) and saving more money (36%). Three in 10 have set resolutions around learning something new (29%) and the same percentage have resolved to be happy (29%).
Among 30- to 44-year-olds, the most common resolutions are saving more money (24%) and being happy (24%). A among 45- to 64-year-olds, common resolutions are improving physical health (16%) and eating healthier (15%). Americans over 65 are most likely to resolve to exercise more (10%), improve their physical health (9%), and eat healthier (9%).
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Related:
- What are Americans’ New Year’s resolutions for 2024?
- Americans are far more likely to believe in the American Dream now than they were a year ago
- Tracker: How often Americans exercise
- What Americans thought of 2023, both for the country and for themselves
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: The YouGov poll was conducted online on March 4 - 8, 2024 among 1,000 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel using sample matching. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty (Isabel Pavia)
