Money, marriage and kids have most impact on nation’s happiness

August 14, 2012, 9:11 AM GMT+0

Whatever makes you happy – whether it is family, friends, home, work or hobbies – then keep it up. A study into the nation’s wellbeing has found that 73% of Americans are generally happy in their lives. The large majority of Americans indicate that they are satisfied with all aspects of life: including their routine, home life, family and friendships.

Why measure wellbeing? Unlike many other national measurements – Gross Domestic Product, Government Debt or Income Per Capita – happiness is difficult to measure. It changes constantly, and depends on many factors, so that it can be tricky to quantify. In many ways, economic measurements can show how happy a nation should be – it indicates how free people are, their access to education, work life, and leisure opportunities. But they also don't tell us the full story. And while few Americans are kept up at night worrying about the national income, many of us will spend some time pondering our personal happiness.

To measure the nation’s wellbeing, YouGov asked a nationally representative panel of Americans how satisfied they feel in the main aspects of their life. The questions included:

  • Overall, how happy are you in your day to day work or routine?
  • How happy do you feel about your neighborhood?
  • Are you generally happy with your family life?
  • Are you generally happy with your close friends?

The results indicate that age, gender and income play a major factor in how happy Americans feel:

  • The biggest UNHAPPY response was among men in their day to day routine (17%)
  • The biggest HAPPY response was among over-65s in their family life (91%)
  • We are most HAPPY in our family life – 81% are happy and 7% are unhappy
  • Although we are mainly happy (65%) in our day to day routines – this area returned the highest UNHAPPY scores (12%)
  • In all areas older respondents say they are more happy than younger respondents
  • More women are HAPPY in their family life (82%) than men (78%)
  • But more men (72%) than women (70%) are HAPPY living in their neighborhood

Older respondents are the happiest out of all the population groups in all every area of life – including their routine, home life, family and close friends. Over-65s are the happiest bunch, trumping 18-29 year-olds and 30-64 year-olds in terms of happiness. Overall, they are 20% happier than adults aged 29 or less, and 18-29 year-olds are 8% more unhappy than over-65s.

For some perhaps it is the freedom of retirement, greater economic security and more relaxed family life that this age group is associated with that keeps over-65s happy. Young respondents, who may be living with their parents or making their first step on the property ladder, are most unhappy in their neighborhood (15%). Out of this young age group, only 59% are happy in their day to day routines (but 79% of over-65s responded they are happy).

Women generally have a higher level of wellbeing than men, whereas men indicate higher levels of unhappiness. Women are most happy in their family life – 82% of women are happy and 78% of men are happy. Men out-happy women only in their attitude to their home – 72% of men happy are in their neighborhood and 70% of women are happy, 8% of men are unhappy and 15% of women are unhappy.

And in all areas – work, home, family and friends – higher earners respond they are happier than those with a lower income. The biggest happiness difference between income groups lies in people’s attitude to the neighborhood they live in. 82% of high earners are happy with their area and only 1% are unhappy, but 79% of low earners are happy while 14% are unhappy.

When it comes to improving people’s wellbeing, there is no one size fits all policy to make people feel happier. To find out the different factors that make Americans happy or unhappy, YouGov asked respondents what they feel has the biggest impact on their wellbeing. Money rates as the most common factor in affecting individual happiness, followed by children, marriage, work, and sleep levels. Mental health is an important factor of wellbeing for 19% of respondents, and 9% are affected by the weather. 8% said that their appearance has a major impact on their wellbeing.

They say that money can’t buy happiness, but it certainly has an impact upon people’s wellbeing. Income affects which factors affect happiness levels. High earners (taking home over $100,000) say their marriage (38%) and their work (39%) are most important for their wellbeing. But people earning less than $40,000 say that money (42%) and children (29%) affect their happiness levels the most.

What affects your wellbeing the most - and would you change it?