Well-being across the life span

Gallup asked adults to rate their present life on the Cantril ladderCantril ladderA survey question that asks people to place their life on a ladder whose bottom step is the worst possible life and whose top step is the best possible. It measures how people evaluate their life as a whole, not how they felt yesterday., which runs from the worst possible life to the best possible one. In interviews from 2009 to 2017, adults in midlife, aged 45 to 5445 to 54 years of ageEstimanddefinition used in this chapter, not an estimateWeightsnone (definition)Populationan age group of adults defined in this chapterPeriodladder interviews in 2009 to 2017 and feelings interviews in 2008 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll, placed their lives at 6.846.84 Cantril ladder score (0 worst possible life, 10 best possible life)Estimandunweighted mean of the 0 to 10 ladder score, interval clustered by the respondent's countyInterval95% CI 6.82 to 6.86n380,027 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults aged 18 to 94 interviewed by Gallup who answered the item and whose county is known (age 45 to 54)Periodinterviews in 2009 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll on average, and adults in the oldest band, aged 75 to 9475 to 94 years of ageEstimanddefinition used in this chapter, not an estimateWeightsnone (definition)Populationan age group of adults defined in this chapterPeriodladder interviews in 2009 to 2017 and feelings interviews in 2008 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll, at 7.387.38 Cantril ladder score (0 worst possible life, 10 best possible life)Estimandunweighted mean of the 0 to 10 ladder score, interval clustered by the respondent's countyInterval95% CI 7.37 to 7.39n289,487 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults aged 18 to 94 interviewed by Gallup who answered the item and whose county is known (age 75 to 94)Periodinterviews in 2009 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll. The older group was born earlier, and its members are also the survivors of their cohort. The two numbers compare different people interviewed in the same years, and neither traces the path of one person's life.

Life evaluation is lowest in midlife and highest in old age

By age band, the mean ladder score changes by −0.15 (95% CI −0.16 to −0.13)−0.15 ladder points, later age band minus earlier age bandEstimandmean of the ladder profile at ages 45 to 54 minus the mean at ages 25 to 34, each year of age weighted by its number of interviews (a raw profile gives the difference of the two band means), interval from a bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI −0.16 to −0.13n2,180,433 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults aged 18 to 94 interviewed by Gallup who answered the item and whose county is knownPeriodinterviews in 2009 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll ladder points from ages 25 to 3425 to 34 years of ageEstimanddefinition used in this chapter, not an estimateWeightsnone (definition)Populationan age group of adults defined in this chapterPeriodladder interviews in 2009 to 2017 and feelings interviews in 2008 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll to midlife and by +0.54 (95% CI 0.53 to 0.55)+0.54 ladder points, later age band minus earlier age bandEstimandmean of the ladder profile at ages 75 to 94 minus the mean at ages 45 to 54, each year of age weighted by its number of interviews (a raw profile gives the difference of the two band means), interval from a bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI 0.53 to 0.55n2,180,433 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults aged 18 to 94 interviewed by Gallup who answered the item and whose county is knownPeriodinterviews in 2009 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll from midlife to the oldest band. The rise from midlife to old age is larger than the fall into midlife. Taken year by year, with each age averaged with the two ages on either side, the profile reaches its lowest point at age 54 (95% CI 51 to 54)54 years of ageEstimandage of the lowest point of the five-year moving average of the mean ladder score by year of age (ages 20 to 92 searched, refined between whole years by a parabola through the lowest point and its neighbours), interval from a bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI 51 to 54n2,180,433 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults aged 18 to 94 interviewed by Gallup who answered the item and whose county is knownPeriodinterviews in 2009 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll.

The profile is a wave more than a parabola. It begins high among the youngest adults and drops to a first low among young adults. It then flattens, falls to its lowest point in midlife and climbs among the oldest adults to a higher level than any it had before. Stone and colleagues found the same shape in the 2008 Gallup-Healthways survey, and Blanchflower and Oswald report a low in middle age across many countries.[1][2]

Figure 1

Mean life evaluation falls from 7.03 among adults 18 to 24 to 6.84 among adults 45 to 54 and is 7.38 among adults 75 to 94

Unweighted mean Cantril ladder score by year of age, adults aged 18 to 94 interviewed by Gallup, 2009 to 2017

Show data

Data for Mean life evaluation falls from 7.03 among adults 18 to 24 to 6.84 among adults 45 to 54 and is 7.38 among adults 75 to 94

age	conf_high	conf_low	estimate	n
18	7.28	7.23	7.25	25,104
19	7.16	7.11	7.14	20,764
20	7.06	7.01	7.03	20,566
21	7.04	6.98	7.01	21,404
22	6.99	6.93	6.96	20,267
23	6.93	6.88	6.91	20,868
24	6.91	6.85	6.88	20,651
25	6.96	6.91	6.93	22,756
26	6.95	6.89	6.92	20,582
27	6.97	6.92	6.94	21,275
28	7.01	6.96	6.98	22,607
29	7.02	6.97	6.99	21,955
30	7.04	6.99	7.01	26,817
31	7.05	7.00	7.02	21,509
32	7.03	6.98	7.00	25,123
33	7.05	7	7.03	22,981
34	7.04	6.98	7.01	23,449
35	7.06	7.01	7.04	27,289
36	7.06	7.01	7.04	23,837
37	7.04	6.99	7.01	24,074
38	7.02	6.97	7.00	25,474
39	7.05	7.00	7.02	25,043
40	7.01	6.96	6.99	33,427
41	7.02	6.96	6.99	24,465
42	6.97	6.92	6.94	30,521
43	6.93	6.88	6.91	28,188
44	6.94	6.89	6.91	27,722
45	6.94	6.88	6.91	34,003
46	6.88	6.83	6.86	31,175
47	6.86	6.81	6.84	33,763
48	6.87	6.82	6.84	34,633
49	6.86	6.81	6.83	34,790
50	6.87	6.83	6.85	49,187
51	6.87	6.82	6.84	35,575
52	6.84	6.79	6.82	43,598
53	6.82	6.77	6.79	41,271
54	6.84	6.80	6.82	42,032
55	6.86	6.82	6.84	47,470
56	6.85	6.80	6.83	43,108
57	6.87	6.83	6.85	44,152
58	6.89	6.84	6.87	45,107
59	6.93	6.89	6.91	44,432
60	7.00	6.96	6.98	54,582
61	7.03	6.99	7.01	41,935
62	7.09	7.05	7.07	51,583
63	7.12	7.08	7.10	46,017
64	7.18	7.13	7.16	46,280
65	7.22	7.19	7.21	53,072
66	7.28	7.24	7.26	43,111
67	7.30	7.26	7.28	44,121
68	7.31	7.27	7.29	42,066
69	7.34	7.30	7.32	38,080
70	7.37	7.33	7.35	46,117
71	7.36	7.31	7.33	33,149
72	7.37	7.32	7.34	35,737
73	7.37	7.32	7.34	32,279
74	7.38	7.33	7.36	29,803
75	7.38	7.33	7.36	32,359
76	7.38	7.33	7.35	26,175
77	7.38	7.33	7.36	25,447
78	7.39	7.33	7.36	24,365
79	7.40	7.35	7.37	21,647
80	7.44	7.39	7.41	26,170
81	7.44	7.38	7.41	18,844
82	7.42	7.35	7.38	19,071
83	7.38	7.31	7.35	17,079
84	7.42	7.35	7.39	14,958
85	7.39	7.32	7.36	14,462
86	7.41	7.33	7.37	10,947
87	7.41	7.32	7.37	9,423
88	7.42	7.33	7.38	8,210
89	7.47	7.36	7.42	5,902
90	7.58	7.47	7.52	5,455
91	7.57	7.43	7.50	3,335
92	7.53	7.36	7.45	2,641
93	7.56	7.36	7.46	1,754
94	7.61	7.35	7.48	1,243

How we know

The interviews come from the Gallup U.S. Daily tracking poll, a telephone survey that drew a new sample every day. The chapter uses 2,180,4332,180,433 interviewsEstimandcount of interviews with a ladder score (the ladder of 2008 is not used)Weightsnone (unweighted count)Populationadults aged 18 to 94 interviewed by Gallup who answered the item and whose county is knownPeriodinterviews in 2009 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll interviews from 2009 to 2017 with adults whose county is known and who gave a usable ladder score. No respondent is followed from one year to the next, so the poll is a repeated cross-section and not a panel. Gallup's extract has no survey weightsSurvey weightsNumbers attached to survey respondents that say how many people in the population each one represents, so that results describe the whole population and not only the people who answered., the adjustments that make a sample stand for the population, so every estimate is unweighted and describes the people interviewed. The ladder of 2008 is left out of every estimate, because that year Gallup asked political questions before the ladder, which lowered the scores.[3] The extract has no interview month, so early 2009 interviews may carry part of the same artifact, and the 2009 ladder is kept with that caveat. The report gives every estimate with its interval and sample size.

The midlife fall is smaller, but present, in high-income households

The chapter repeats the profile within three groups of households: annual income under $36,000$36,000 dollars of annual household income, as reported in the year of the interviewEstimanddefinition used in this chapter, not an estimate (Gallup's harmonized brackets, not adjusted for inflation)Weightsnone (definition)Populationthe upper limit of the lowest household income groupPeriodinterviews in 2009 to 2014SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll, between the two cutoffs, and $90,000$90,000 dollars of annual household income, as reported in the year of the interviewEstimanddefinition used in this chapter, not an estimate (Gallup's harmonized brackets, not adjusted for inflation)Weightsnone (definition)Populationthe lower limit of the highest household income groupPeriodinterviews in 2009 to 2014SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll or more. Income is the household's, includes a partner's earnings and is in dollars of the interview year. These profiles use interviews in 2009 to 2014 only. The share of income reporters in the top group jumped between 2014 and 2017 by more than inflation can explain, so the groups mean something different in the later years.

In the highest income group, the ladder is level from ages 25 to 3425 to 34 years of ageEstimanddefinition used in this chapter, not an estimateWeightsnone (definition)Populationan age group of adults defined in this chapterPeriodladder interviews in 2009 to 2017 and feelings interviews in 2008 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll to ages 35 to 4435 to 44 years of ageEstimanddefinition used in this chapter, not an estimateWeightsnone (definition)Populationan age group of adults defined in this chapterPeriodladder interviews in 2009 to 2017 and feelings interviews in 2008 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll. From that band to midlife it then falls by −0.07 (95% CI −0.08 to −0.05)−0.07 ladder points, later age band minus earlier age bandEstimandmean of the ladder profile at ages 45 to 54 minus the mean at ages 35 to 44, each year of age weighted by its number of interviews (a raw profile gives the difference of the two band means), interval from a bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI −0.08 to −0.05n310,559 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults with a ladder score and household income $90,000 or morePeriodinterviews in 2009 to 2014SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll ladder points, against −0.27 (95% CI −0.30 to −0.24)−0.27 ladder points, later age band minus earlier age bandEstimandmean of the ladder profile at ages 45 to 54 minus the mean at ages 35 to 44, each year of age weighted by its number of interviews (a raw profile gives the difference of the two band means), interval from a bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI −0.30 to −0.24n485,159 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults with a ladder score and household income Under $36,000Periodinterviews in 2009 to 2014SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll in the lowest income group. The midlife fall in the highest group is smaller and not absent. Holding income fixed removes one source of difference between age groups, since the mix of incomes differs by age, but not all of it. Income is also partly a consequence of health and well-being as well as a source of them.

Figure 2

The fall in life evaluation from ages 25 to 34 to ages 45 to 54 is −0.59 ladder points in households under $36,000 and −0.05 in households of $90,000 or more, where the fall from ages 35 to 44 is −0.07

Cantril ladder score and feelings yesterday by year of age, for interviews in 2009 to 2014 in households with annual income under the lower cutoff, between the cutoffs and above the upper cutoff, Gallup

LadderEnjoymentStressPhysical pain

Ladder scores fall to 5.89 at ages 45 to 54 in households under $36,000, while in households of $90,000 or more they are 7.51 at ages 35 to 44 and 7.45 at ages 45 to 54

Unweighted mean Cantril ladder score by year of age and household income group, Gallup 2009 to 2014

The lowest income group has a deep midlife low and a large rise at older ages, the middle group has a smaller version of the same shape, and the highest group's line is level from ages 25 to 34 to ages 35 to 44 and has a much smaller midlife fall. Each point is an unweighted mean for one year of age with a 95% interval clustered by county.

Show data

Data for The fall in life evaluation from ages 25 to 34 to ages 45 to 54 is −0.59 ladder points in households under $36,000 and −0.05 in households of $90,000 or more, where the fall from ages 35 to 44 is −0.07, Ladder

age	conf_high	conf_low	estimate	group	n
18	7.14	7.04	7.09	Under $36,000	5,686
19	7.00	6.91	6.96	Under $36,000	5,858
20	6.97	6.87	6.92	Under $36,000	6,592
21	6.94	6.85	6.89	Under $36,000	7,219
22	6.85	6.76	6.81	Under $36,000	6,854
23	6.75	6.66	6.71	Under $36,000	6,753
24	6.71	6.60	6.65	Under $36,000	6,544
25	6.71	6.62	6.66	Under $36,000	6,878
26	6.60	6.50	6.55	Under $36,000	5,908
27	6.56	6.45	6.50	Under $36,000	5,783
28	6.57	6.46	6.52	Under $36,000	6,052
29	6.49	6.37	6.43	Under $36,000	5,352
30	6.56	6.43	6.49	Under $36,000	6,511
31	6.47	6.33	6.40	Under $36,000	4,588
32	6.46	6.33	6.40	Under $36,000	5,552
33	6.43	6.30	6.37	Under $36,000	4,611
34	6.41	6.27	6.34	Under $36,000	4,532
35	6.41	6.28	6.34	Under $36,000	5,368
36	6.38	6.22	6.30	Under $36,000	4,409
37	6.29	6.14	6.21	Under $36,000	4,486
38	6.29	6.16	6.23	Under $36,000	4,752
39	6.25	6.12	6.19	Under $36,000	4,443
40	6.28	6.16	6.22	Under $36,000	6,404
41	6.15	6.01	6.08	Under $36,000	4,289
42	6.08	5.95	6.02	Under $36,000	5,550
43	6.06	5.93	5.99	Under $36,000	5,208
44	6.10	5.97	6.04	Under $36,000	5,001
45	6.03	5.91	5.97	Under $36,000	6,302
46	5.95	5.83	5.89	Under $36,000	5,860
47	5.97	5.85	5.91	Under $36,000	6,436
48	5.94	5.82	5.88	Under $36,000	6,715
49	5.95	5.83	5.89	Under $36,000	6,802
50	5.96	5.86	5.91	Under $36,000	9,698
51	5.97	5.86	5.92	Under $36,000	7,178
52	5.93	5.83	5.88	Under $36,000	8,699
53	5.87	5.77	5.82	Under $36,000	8,438
54	5.90	5.80	5.85	Under $36,000	8,402
55	5.93	5.83	5.88	Under $36,000	9,412
56	5.87	5.77	5.82	Under $36,000	8,579
57	5.95	5.84	5.89	Under $36,000	9,010
58	5.96	5.86	5.91	Under $36,000	8,977
59	6.05	5.94	5.99	Under $36,000	8,763
60	6.10	6	6.05	Under $36,000	10,465
61	6.20	6.09	6.14	Under $36,000	8,360
62	6.28	6.19	6.23	Under $36,000	10,210
63	6.31	6.22	6.26	Under $36,000	9,070
64	6.43	6.34	6.39	Under $36,000	8,947
65	6.53	6.44	6.48	Under $36,000	10,348
66	6.59	6.50	6.54	Under $36,000	8,602
67	6.62	6.53	6.57	Under $36,000	8,867
68	6.65	6.56	6.60	Under $36,000	8,512
69	6.73	6.64	6.68	Under $36,000	8,076
70	6.78	6.70	6.74	Under $36,000	9,664
71	6.81	6.71	6.76	Under $36,000	7,672
72	6.84	6.74	6.79	Under $36,000	8,342
73	6.85	6.75	6.80	Under $36,000	7,729
74	6.91	6.81	6.86	Under $36,000	7,424
75	6.94	6.85	6.89	Under $36,000	8,139
76	6.93	6.83	6.88	Under $36,000	6,945
77	7.00	6.90	6.95	Under $36,000	6,834
78	7.03	6.93	6.98	Under $36,000	6,649
79	7.01	6.90	6.96	Under $36,000	6,142
80	7.11	7.01	7.06	Under $36,000	7,443
81	7.11	7	7.05	Under $36,000	5,617
82	7.14	7.02	7.08	Under $36,000	5,792
83	7.10	6.98	7.04	Under $36,000	5,125
84	7.18	7.06	7.12	Under $36,000	4,628
85	7.18	7.05	7.12	Under $36,000	4,351
86	7.28	7.13	7.20	Under $36,000	3,386
87	7.29	7.12	7.21	Under $36,000	2,842
88	7.26	7.09	7.18	Under $36,000	2,474
89	7.31	7.10	7.21	Under $36,000	1,867
90	7.37	7.16	7.26	Under $36,000	1,616
91	7.61	7.34	7.47	Under $36,000	981
92	7.46	7.13	7.29	Under $36,000	755
93	7.53	7.15	7.34	Under $36,000	521
94	7.70	7.21	7.45	Under $36,000	310
18	7.38	7.29	7.34	$36,000 to $89,999	4,315
19	7.25	7.14	7.19	$36,000 to $89,999	3,545
20	7.22	7.12	7.17	$36,000 to $89,999	3,432
21	7.22	7.11	7.16	$36,000 to $89,999	3,725
22	7.21	7.11	7.16	$36,000 to $89,999	3,852
23	7.16	7.07	7.12	$36,000 to $89,999	4,534
24	7.12	7.03	7.07	$36,000 to $89,999	4,926
25	7.20	7.11	7.16	$36,000 to $89,999	5,718
26	7.18	7.10	7.14	$36,000 to $89,999	5,657
27	7.22	7.14	7.18	$36,000 to $89,999	6,142
28	7.21	7.13	7.17	$36,000 to $89,999	6,743
29	7.19	7.12	7.15	$36,000 to $89,999	6,811
30	7.17	7.10	7.14	$36,000 to $89,999	7,970
31	7.18	7.11	7.14	$36,000 to $89,999	6,785
32	7.14	7.07	7.10	$36,000 to $89,999	7,577
33	7.15	7.08	7.11	$36,000 to $89,999	7,028
34	7.13	7.05	7.09	$36,000 to $89,999	7,113
35	7.13	7.06	7.09	$36,000 to $89,999	7,780
36	7.09	7.00	7.05	$36,000 to $89,999	7,073
37	7.05	6.97	7.01	$36,000 to $89,999	7,115
38	7.05	6.98	7.02	$36,000 to $89,999	7,564
39	7.05	6.98	7.02	$36,000 to $89,999	7,347
40	7.01	6.94	6.98	$36,000 to $89,999	9,294
41	7.02	6.95	6.99	$36,000 to $89,999	7,481
42	6.95	6.88	6.91	$36,000 to $89,999	8,922
43	6.92	6.84	6.88	$36,000 to $89,999	8,202
44	6.93	6.85	6.89	$36,000 to $89,999	7,958
45	6.96	6.88	6.92	$36,000 to $89,999	9,379
46	6.90	6.83	6.86	$36,000 to $89,999	8,579
47	6.87	6.80	6.84	$36,000 to $89,999	9,507
48	6.88	6.81	6.85	$36,000 to $89,999	9,611
49	6.86	6.79	6.82	$36,000 to $89,999	9,826
50	6.90	6.83	6.87	$36,000 to $89,999	12,927
51	6.92	6.84	6.88	$36,000 to $89,999	9,986
52	6.87	6.80	6.83	$36,000 to $89,999	12,058
53	6.90	6.83	6.87	$36,000 to $89,999	11,152
54	6.93	6.86	6.89	$36,000 to $89,999	11,437
55	6.91	6.84	6.88	$36,000 to $89,999	12,738
56	6.94	6.87	6.90	$36,000 to $89,999	12,024
57	6.97	6.90	6.93	$36,000 to $89,999	12,157
58	6.98	6.91	6.95	$36,000 to $89,999	12,474
59	7.04	6.98	7.01	$36,000 to $89,999	12,419
60	7.12	7.06	7.09	$36,000 to $89,999	14,550
61	7.16	7.09	7.13	$36,000 to $89,999	11,886
62	7.19	7.13	7.16	$36,000 to $89,999	14,832
63	7.24	7.17	7.21	$36,000 to $89,999	13,321
64	7.29	7.23	7.26	$36,000 to $89,999	13,534
65	7.33	7.27	7.30	$36,000 to $89,999	14,666
66	7.41	7.34	7.38	$36,000 to $89,999	11,987
67	7.43	7.37	7.40	$36,000 to $89,999	11,910
68	7.44	7.37	7.40	$36,000 to $89,999	10,820
69	7.48	7.41	7.44	$36,000 to $89,999	9,902
70	7.50	7.43	7.46	$36,000 to $89,999	11,374
71	7.54	7.46	7.50	$36,000 to $89,999	8,453
72	7.54	7.46	7.50	$36,000 to $89,999	8,691
73	7.55	7.47	7.51	$36,000 to $89,999	7,438
74	7.58	7.49	7.53	$36,000 to $89,999	6,774
75	7.55	7.47	7.51	$36,000 to $89,999	7,325
76	7.56	7.47	7.52	$36,000 to $89,999	5,726
77	7.57	7.48	7.53	$36,000 to $89,999	5,546
78	7.61	7.51	7.56	$36,000 to $89,999	5,173
79	7.67	7.57	7.62	$36,000 to $89,999	4,559
80	7.65	7.55	7.60	$36,000 to $89,999	5,116
81	7.66	7.54	7.60	$36,000 to $89,999	3,742
82	7.64	7.51	7.58	$36,000 to $89,999	3,591
83	7.62	7.48	7.55	$36,000 to $89,999	3,174
84	7.66	7.52	7.59	$36,000 to $89,999	2,650
85	7.57	7.42	7.50	$36,000 to $89,999	2,556
86	7.61	7.44	7.52	$36,000 to $89,999	1,838
87	7.64	7.44	7.54	$36,000 to $89,999	1,561
88	7.57	7.37	7.47	$36,000 to $89,999	1,303
89	7.78	7.52	7.65	$36,000 to $89,999	890
90	7.79	7.49	7.64	$36,000 to $89,999	773
91	7.92	7.62	7.77	$36,000 to $89,999	505
92	7.81	7.43	7.62	$36,000 to $89,999	397
93	7.81	7.30	7.56	$36,000 to $89,999	226
94	7.78	7.20	7.49	$36,000 to $89,999	198
18	7.58	7.47	7.52	$90,000 or more	2,731
19	7.61	7.47	7.54	$90,000 or more	2,035
20	7.45	7.31	7.38	$90,000 or more	1,825
21	7.46	7.31	7.38	$90,000 or more	1,817
22	7.31	7.16	7.24	$90,000 or more	1,638
23	7.24	7.08	7.16	$90,000 or more	1,635
24	7.27	7.11	7.19	$90,000 or more	1,547
25	7.30	7.15	7.22	$90,000 or more	1,718
26	7.41	7.27	7.34	$90,000 or more	1,673
27	7.47	7.34	7.41	$90,000 or more	2,028
28	7.55	7.44	7.50	$90,000 or more	2,337
29	7.57	7.45	7.51	$90,000 or more	2,627
30	7.60	7.49	7.54	$90,000 or more	3,223
31	7.59	7.50	7.54	$90,000 or more	3,225
32	7.58	7.49	7.54	$90,000 or more	3,704
33	7.59	7.50	7.55	$90,000 or more	3,774
34	7.58	7.50	7.54	$90,000 or more	4,031
35	7.58	7.50	7.54	$90,000 or more	4,750
36	7.61	7.53	7.57	$90,000 or more	4,481
37	7.60	7.53	7.57	$90,000 or more	4,744
38	7.56	7.49	7.53	$90,000 or more	5,116
39	7.57	7.50	7.53	$90,000 or more	5,415
40	7.56	7.48	7.52	$90,000 or more	6,509
41	7.55	7.47	7.51	$90,000 or more	5,541
42	7.52	7.46	7.49	$90,000 or more	6,799
43	7.48	7.41	7.45	$90,000 or more	6,276
44	7.50	7.43	7.46	$90,000 or more	6,156
45	7.50	7.43	7.46	$90,000 or more	7,061
46	7.46	7.39	7.43	$90,000 or more	6,785
47	7.47	7.39	7.43	$90,000 or more	7,090
48	7.45	7.39	7.42	$90,000 or more	7,421
49	7.47	7.40	7.44	$90,000 or more	7,424
50	7.46	7.40	7.43	$90,000 or more	9,246
51	7.49	7.42	7.45	$90,000 or more	7,276
52	7.51	7.45	7.48	$90,000 or more	8,649
53	7.48	7.41	7.45	$90,000 or more	8,237
54	7.50	7.43	7.47	$90,000 or more	8,045
55	7.50	7.43	7.46	$90,000 or more	8,899
56	7.49	7.43	7.46	$90,000 or more	7,975
57	7.52	7.46	7.49	$90,000 or more	8,058
58	7.55	7.48	7.51	$90,000 or more	8,057
59	7.58	7.52	7.55	$90,000 or more	7,770
60	7.62	7.55	7.58	$90,000 or more	8,768
61	7.68	7.61	7.65	$90,000 or more	6,864
62	7.71	7.65	7.68	$90,000 or more	7,960
63	7.72	7.65	7.68	$90,000 or more	6,937
64	7.76	7.69	7.73	$90,000 or more	6,546
65	7.83	7.75	7.79	$90,000 or more	6,757
66	7.85	7.77	7.81	$90,000 or more	5,407
67	7.88	7.79	7.83	$90,000 or more	5,156
68	7.95	7.86	7.90	$90,000 or more	4,582
69	7.93	7.83	7.88	$90,000 or more	3,858
70	7.95	7.85	7.90	$90,000 or more	4,316
71	7.98	7.86	7.92	$90,000 or more	3,016
72	7.95	7.83	7.89	$90,000 or more	3,036
73	7.91	7.78	7.84	$90,000 or more	2,624
74	8.02	7.88	7.95	$90,000 or more	2,227
75	7.94	7.79	7.87	$90,000 or more	2,316
76	7.94	7.78	7.86	$90,000 or more	1,798
77	7.98	7.81	7.90	$90,000 or more	1,747
78	7.87	7.69	7.78	$90,000 or more	1,550
79	7.87	7.67	7.77	$90,000 or more	1,297
80	7.93	7.75	7.84	$90,000 or more	1,568
81	8	7.80	7.90	$90,000 or more	1,108
82	7.93	7.73	7.83	$90,000 or more	1,101
83	7.79	7.54	7.67	$90,000 or more	892
84	7.88	7.64	7.76	$90,000 or more	756
85	7.95	7.68	7.82	$90,000 or more	712
86	7.91	7.58	7.75	$90,000 or more	518
87	7.82	7.46	7.64	$90,000 or more	449
88	7.98	7.59	7.79	$90,000 or more	402
89	7.89	7.37	7.63	$90,000 or more	275
90	8.02	7.48	7.75	$90,000 or more	253
91	7.75	7.14	7.45	$90,000 or more	166
92	8.13	7.43	7.78	$90,000 or more	129
93	8.16	7.23	7.70	$90,000 or more	69
94	8.27	7.22	7.75	$90,000 or more	51

Controls move the age of the lowest point

Where the low falls also depends on what is held fixed. In the interviews from 2009 to 2014 that report sex, marital status, education and household income, the lowest point of the raw profile is at age 54 (95% CI 51 to 55)54 years of ageEstimandage of the lowest point of the five-year moving average of the mean ladder score by year of age (ages 20 to 92 searched, refined between whole years by a parabola through the lowest point and its neighbours), interval from a bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI 51 to 55n1,355,746 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults with a ladder score, sex, marital status, education and household incomePeriodinterviews in 2009 to 2014SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll. Adjusting for those four and for survey year moves it to 48 (95% CI 48 to 54)48 years of ageEstimandage of the lowest point of the five-year moving average of the mean ladder score by year of age (ages 20 to 92 searched, refined between whole years by a parabola through the lowest point and its neighbours), interval from a bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI 48 to 54n1,355,746 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults with a ladder score, sex, marital status, education and household incomePeriodinterviews in 2009 to 2014SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll, an interval that reaches almost to the raw age. A quadratic fit, which draws the profile as a parabola in age, puts it at 44 (95% CI 44 to 45)44 years of ageEstimandage at which a quadratic in age fitted to the ladder score turns, interval from a bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI 44 to 45n1,355,746 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults with a ladder score, sex, marital status, education and household incomePeriodinterviews in 2009 to 2014SourceGallup U.S. Daily PollNoteA parabola forces a symmetric shape; the interval describes sampling variation of this fit and not whether the shape is right., and that narrow interval describes the fit and not whether the shape is right. The bottom of the profile is flat, so small differences in the sample move the lowest point within a range of ages. The profile is also not symmetric, so a parabola turns earlier than the profile does.

The raw profile already has a midlife low without any adjustment, and the adjustments deepen it, mostly through household income. Glenn argues that part of the U shape comes from such controls, marital status above all, because happier people are more likely to marry and stay married.[4] The same objection applies to household income, which is partly a consequence of well-being. The adjusted profile describes adults with the same mix of characteristics, and it does not isolate age.

Figure 3

Adjusting for household income moves the lowest point of the ladder profile from age 54 to age 48 with overlapping intervals, and a quadratic fit puts it at age 44, so no single age is the turning point

Cantril ladder score by year of age, raw and adjusted, the age of its lowest point under different adjustments and for groups, and the fall and rise between age bands, Gallup 2009 to 2017

Raw and adjusted profilesAge of the lowest pointFall and rise

The lowest point of the ladder profile is at age 54 raw and 48 adjusted for five controls, and a quadratic fit puts it at 44 raw and 47 adjusted

Age of the lowest point of the five-year moving average of the mean ladder score by year of age, or the turning age of a fitted quadratic, with 95% intervals from a bootstrap over counties

• Lowest point of the profile
• Quadratic fit
• Within household income groups, 2009 to 2014
• Within county deprivation thirds

Household income moves the point estimate earlier by several years, with an interval that overlaps the raw one, sex leaves it in place, a quadratic fit puts it earlier than the profile does, and the lowest income group's low is later than the middle group's. Dots are turning ages and bars are bootstrap intervals.

Show data

Data for Adjusting for household income moves the lowest point of the ladder profile from age 54 to age 48 with overlapping intervals, and a quadratic fit puts it at age 44, so no single age is the turning point, Age of the lowest point

age	conf_high	conf_low	group	label	n
53.90	54.30	51.50	Lowest point of the profile	All interviews with a ladder score, raw, 2009 to 2017	2,180,433
54.10	54.60	51	Lowest point of the profile	Interviews with complete controls, raw	1,355,746
54.10	54.60	51.10	Lowest point of the profile	Adjusted for sex	1,355,746
53.90	54.20	48.10	Lowest point of the profile	Adjusted for marital status	1,355,746
54.20	54.70	48.10	Lowest point of the profile	Adjusted for education	1,355,746
48.20	54	47.90	Lowest point of the profile	Adjusted for household income	1,355,746
54.10	54.60	51	Lowest point of the profile	Adjusted for survey year	1,355,746
48.10	53.90	47.80	Lowest point of the profile	Adjusted for all five	1,355,746
54.10	54.60	50.90	Lowest point of the profile	Interviews with a health rating, raw	1,354,627
47.70	48	47	Lowest point of the profile	Adjusted for the five and self-rated health	1,354,627
44.40	44.80	44	Quadratic fit	Raw, quadratic fit	1,355,746
47.10	47.40	46.90	Quadratic fit	Adjusted for all five, quadratic fit	1,355,746
54.40	55	53.90	Within household income groups, 2009 to 2014	Household income under the lower cutoff	485,159
48.20	50.80	47.80	Within household income groups, 2009 to 2014	Household income between the cutoffs	567,870
54.40	55.50	50.80	Within county deprivation thirds	Least deprived third of interviews	718,005
53.90	54.50	52.40	Within county deprivation thirds	Middle third of interviews	730,419
51.10	53.70	48	Within county deprivation thirds	Most deprived third of interviews	731,406

Daily feelings follow other schedules

The ladder is a judgment of life as a whole. The feelings are yes or no answers about whether a respondent had a feeling for a lot of the day before the interview. Enjoyment and happiness reach their lowest points in midlife, close to the ladder's lowest point. Stress, worry and anger are lower among older adults than among younger ones, while pain is more common. The feelings keep the interviews of 2008, because the question order affected them less. In interviews from 2008 to 2017, stress was reported by 48.6%48.6% percent of adults who reported the feeling during a lot of the day yesterdayEstimandunweighted share of interviews that answered yes to the item, interval clustered by the respondent's countyInterval95% CI 48.3% to 48.9%n269,066 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults aged 18 to 94 interviewed by Gallup who answered the item and whose county is known (age 25 to 34), stressPeriodinterviews in 2008 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll of adults aged 25 to 3425 to 34 years of ageEstimanddefinition used in this chapter, not an estimateWeightsnone (definition)Populationan age group of adults defined in this chapterPeriodladder interviews in 2009 to 2017 and feelings interviews in 2008 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll and by 18.0%18.0% percent of adults who reported the feeling during a lot of the day yesterdayEstimandunweighted share of interviews that answered yes to the item, interval clustered by the respondent's countyInterval95% CI 17.8% to 18.2%n342,420 respondentsWeightsnone (unweighted)Populationadults aged 18 to 94 interviewed by Gallup who answered the item and whose county is known (age 75 to 94), stressPeriodinterviews in 2008 to 2017SourceGallup U.S. Daily Poll of adults in the oldest band. Physical pain rises to a peak and stays near that level afterward, so it does not keep climbing with age. Pain also rose within every birth cohort the chapter follows across the interview years. The chapter checks one cohort, people born in 1950 to 1959. Adults at the same ages had almost the same rise over the same years, so nearly all of the cohort's rise is a rise in the period and not aging. The comparison is rough, because all adults include the cohort itself.

Figure 4

Stress, worry and anger are lower among older adults, enjoyment and happiness are lowest in midlife, and physical pain peaks near age 60

Share of adults who reported each feeling during a lot of the day yesterday, by year of age, and the age at which each profile turns, Gallup 2008 to 2017

Positive feelingsNegative feelingsAge at the turn

Stress fell from 48.6% among adults 25 to 34 to 18.0% among adults 75 to 94, while physical pain rose from 15.5% among adults 18 to 24 to 28.5% among adults 55 to 64

Stress, worry and anger are lower among older adults than among younger ones, sadness stays within a narrow range, and physical pain climbs through midlife and then levels off. Each point is an unweighted share for one year of age with a 95% interval clustered by county.

Show data

Data for Stress, worry and anger are lower among older adults, enjoyment and happiness are lowest in midlife, and physical pain peaks near age 60, Negative feelings

age	conf_high	conf_low	estimate	group	n
18	27.60	26.52	27.06	Worry	28,569
19	29.74	28.58	29.16	Worry	23,263
20	30.78	29.53	30.16	Worry	23,026
21	31.96	30.71	31.33	Worry	23,793
22	33.12	31.73	32.42	Worry	22,822
23	33	31.79	32.40	Worry	23,611
24	33.28	32.06	32.67	Worry	23,454
25	33.11	31.91	32.51	Worry	26,027
26	33.62	32.28	32.95	Worry	23,871
27	33.45	32.18	32.82	Worry	24,772
28	33.50	32.17	32.84	Worry	26,629
29	33.33	32.18	32.75	Worry	25,885
30	33.30	32.11	32.71	Worry	31,469
31	33.94	32.64	33.29	Worry	25,449
32	33.92	32.75	33.33	Worry	29,620
33	34.01	32.75	33.38	Worry	27,399
34	33.96	32.68	33.32	Worry	27,969
35	33.74	32.53	33.14	Worry	32,611
36	33.98	32.74	33.36	Worry	28,991
37	34.97	33.80	34.39	Worry	30,040
38	34.78	33.64	34.21	Worry	31,629
39	34.98	33.69	34.33	Worry	30,627
40	34.67	33.67	34.17	Worry	40,304
41	34.99	33.78	34.38	Worry	29,998
42	35.32	34.18	34.75	Worry	37,118
43	35.46	34.39	34.93	Worry	34,694
44	35.63	34.50	35.07	Worry	34,227
45	35.10	34.03	34.57	Worry	41,579
46	36.38	35.17	35.77	Worry	38,186
47	36.45	35.47	35.96	Worry	41,477
48	36.69	35.63	36.16	Worry	42,392
49	36.12	35.05	35.59	Worry	42,567
50	35.37	34.48	34.92	Worry	59,303
51	36.14	35.07	35.61	Worry	43,404
52	35.77	34.87	35.32	Worry	52,497
53	36.32	35.38	35.85	Worry	49,716
54	35.42	34.49	34.95	Worry	50,951
55	34.27	33.41	33.84	Worry	56,795
56	34.39	33.45	33.92	Worry	51,529
57	34.12	33.23	33.67	Worry	52,847
58	33.57	32.70	33.13	Worry	54,077
59	32.66	31.70	32.18	Worry	53,045
60	30.61	29.78	30.20	Worry	65,048
61	30.69	29.70	30.19	Worry	50,838
62	28.83	27.93	28.38	Worry	60,289
63	28.34	27.43	27.89	Worry	53,014
64	26.56	25.67	26.11	Worry	53,740
65	24.70	23.83	24.27	Worry	62,206
66	23.70	22.87	23.28	Worry	50,147
67	23.09	22.16	22.63	Worry	50,938
68	22.23	21.34	21.78	Worry	48,671
69	21.73	20.86	21.29	Worry	43,869
70	20.90	20.14	20.52	Worry	53,277
71	20.84	19.97	20.41	Worry	38,563
72	20.59	19.76	20.18	Worry	41,700
73	20.09	19.21	19.65	Worry	37,771
74	20.33	19.46	19.90	Worry	34,722
75	19.52	18.73	19.13	Worry	37,892
76	20.19	19.23	19.71	Worry	30,818
77	19.65	18.73	19.19	Worry	30,150
78	19.58	18.61	19.10	Worry	29,088
79	19.75	18.79	19.27	Worry	25,569
80	18.68	17.74	18.21	Worry	31,131
81	19.24	18.15	18.69	Worry	22,423
82	19.27	18.21	18.74	Worry	22,659
83	19.19	18.07	18.63	Worry	20,215
84	19.25	18.03	18.64	Worry	17,779
85	18.18	16.98	17.58	Worry	17,067
86	18.40	17.04	17.72	Worry	13,031
87	18.38	16.92	17.65	Worry	11,048
88	18.19	16.62	17.40	Worry	9,774
89	18.66	16.74	17.70	Worry	6,819
90	17.21	15.30	16.26	Worry	6,398
91	17.56	15.27	16.41	Worry	3,906
92	17.32	14.63	15.97	Worry	3,099
93	16.11	13.06	14.59	Worry	2,050
94	16.80	13.15	14.98	Worry	1,449
18	42.52	41.08	41.80	Stress	28,568
19	45.50	44.04	44.77	Stress	23,262
20	47.90	46.48	47.19	Stress	23,022
21	48.51	47.10	47.81	Stress	23,787
22	49.34	47.93	48.64	Stress	22,821
23	48.63	47.30	47.96	Stress	23,605
24	49.67	48.35	49.01	Stress	23,454
25	49.11	47.73	48.42	Stress	26,036
26	49.86	48.41	49.13	Stress	23,861
27	50.14	48.81	49.48	Stress	24,771
28	49.04	47.75	48.39	Stress	26,630
29	49.05	47.82	48.43	Stress	25,891
30	47.37	46.10	46.73	Stress	31,457
31	50.22	48.90	49.56	Stress	25,455
32	49.47	48.16	48.82	Stress	29,613
33	49.37	48.13	48.75	Stress	27,392
34	49.04	47.78	48.41	Stress	27,960
35	48.01	46.84	47.43	Stress	32,600
36	48.25	47.02	47.64	Stress	28,987
37	48.95	47.68	48.31	Stress	30,020
38	48.55	47.32	47.94	Stress	31,620
39	48.36	47.13	47.75	Stress	30,615
40	46.75	45.61	46.18	Stress	40,304
41	48.57	47.28	47.93	Stress	30,003
42	47.35	46.27	46.81	Stress	37,111
43	47.65	46.56	47.11	Stress	34,684
44	47.31	46.18	46.75	Stress	34,226
45	45.60	44.55	45.08	Stress	41,584
46	46.64	45.64	46.14	Stress	38,180
47	46.34	45.34	45.84	Stress	41,478
48	46.07	45.04	45.56	Stress	42,378
49	45.86	44.88	45.37	Stress	42,564
50	43.78	42.90	43.34	Stress	59,277
51	45.16	44.17	44.66	Stress	43,409
52	44.27	43.36	43.82	Stress	52,483
53	44.61	43.68	44.14	Stress	49,715
54	43.44	42.55	42.99	Stress	50,958
55	42	41.18	41.59	Stress	56,778
56	41.92	41.02	41.47	Stress	51,513
57	41.04	40.17	40.61	Stress	52,848
58	40.21	39.31	39.76	Stress	54,058
59	38.88	38.02	38.45	Stress	53,028
60	36.30	35.47	35.88	Stress	65,039
61	35.63	34.67	35.15	Stress	50,826
62	33.38	32.48	32.93	Stress	60,276
63	32.23	31.36	31.80	Stress	52,997
64	30.20	29.39	29.79	Stress	53,732
65	27.41	26.56	26.98	Stress	62,199
66	26.22	25.37	25.79	Stress	50,147
67	25.36	24.44	24.90	Stress	50,933
68	23.94	23.06	23.50	Stress	48,661
69	23.29	22.39	22.84	Stress	43,876
70	22	21.30	21.65	Stress	53,287
71	21.72	20.84	21.28	Stress	38,553
72	21.21	20.41	20.81	Stress	41,693
73	20.79	19.93	20.36	Stress	37,746
74	20.65	19.79	20.22	Stress	34,729
75	19.90	19.06	19.48	Stress	37,917
76	19.96	19.02	19.49	Stress	30,825
77	20.22	19.24	19.73	Stress	30,161
78	19.32	18.39	18.86	Stress	29,100
79	19.14	18.16	18.65	Stress	25,570
80	18.45	17.53	17.99	Stress	31,115
81	18.65	17.62	18.14	Stress	22,419
82	18	17.01	17.50	Stress	22,663
83	18.22	17.13	17.68	Stress	20,214
84	17.62	16.55	17.08	Stress	17,771
85	17.44	16.34	16.89	Stress	17,078
86	17.24	15.88	16.56	Stress	13,037
87	16.66	15.29	15.97	Stress	11,068
88	16.03	14.62	15.32	Stress	9,776
89	16.60	14.80	15.70	Stress	6,814
90	15.78	14.09	14.93	Stress	6,396
91	14.95	12.67	13.81	Stress	3,896
92	15.09	12.60	13.84	Stress	3,106
93	15.41	12.20	13.80	Stress	2,050
94	13.64	10.18	11.91	Stress	1,444
18	15.36	14.45	14.91	Sadness	26,311
19	16.06	15.07	15.57	Sadness	21,413
20	16.31	15.27	15.79	Sadness	21,082
21	15.79	14.84	15.32	Sadness	21,759
22	16.05	15	15.52	Sadness	20,899
23	15.40	14.35	14.87	Sadness	21,557
24	15.85	14.86	15.35	Sadness	21,409
25	16.01	14.88	15.45	Sadness	23,760
26	15.70	14.58	15.14	Sadness	21,863
27	15.52	14.48	15	Sadness	22,750
28	15.18	14.05	14.61	Sadness	24,537
29	15.32	14.17	14.74	Sadness	23,867
30	15.24	14.33	14.79	Sadness	29,131
31	15.36	14.32	14.84	Sadness	23,599
32	15.45	14.32	14.88	Sadness	27,453
33	15.17	14.21	14.69	Sadness	25,403
34	15.44	14.38	14.91	Sadness	25,880
35	15.56	14.65	15.11	Sadness	30,147
36	15.14	14.13	14.63	Sadness	26,874
37	16.03	15.02	15.53	Sadness	28,038
38	15.80	14.72	15.26	Sadness	29,685
39	15.98	14.97	15.48	Sadness	28,746
40	16.48	15.40	15.94	Sadness	37,697
41	16.03	15.07	15.55	Sadness	28,404
42	16.73	15.72	16.23	Sadness	35,013
43	17.32	16.38	16.85	Sadness	32,880
44	17.28	16.33	16.81	Sadness	32,434
45	17.27	16.35	16.81	Sadness	39,202
46	17.82	16.89	17.35	Sadness	36,089
47	18.34	17.40	17.87	Sadness	39,128
48	18.63	17.76	18.20	Sadness	40,112
49	18.81	17.85	18.33	Sadness	40,449
50	19.03	18.24	18.63	Sadness	56,078
51	19.42	18.51	18.96	Sadness	41,315
52	19.48	18.65	19.07	Sadness	49,742
53	20.40	19.56	19.98	Sadness	47,128
54	20.18	19.36	19.77	Sadness	48,240
55	19.65	18.89	19.27	Sadness	53,727
56	19.60	18.80	19.20	Sadness	48,665
57	20.24	19.48	19.86	Sadness	49,991
58	19.76	18.94	19.35	Sadness	51,098
59	19.31	18.51	18.91	Sadness	50,180
60	18.49	17.75	18.12	Sadness	61,303
61	18.79	18.01	18.40	Sadness	48,109
62	18.01	17.29	17.65	Sadness	56,973
63	17.88	17.14	17.51	Sadness	50,073
64	16.82	16.09	16.45	Sadness	50,682
65	16.16	15.41	15.79	Sadness	58,576
66	15.61	14.90	15.26	Sadness	47,212
67	15.78	15.05	15.41	Sadness	47,791
68	15.11	14.37	14.74	Sadness	45,596
69	14.81	14.09	14.45	Sadness	41,075
70	14.53	13.82	14.17	Sadness	49,252
71	15.08	14.35	14.72	Sadness	36,279
72	15.45	14.66	15.05	Sadness	39,182
73	14.96	14.17	14.56	Sadness	35,411
74	15.63	14.78	15.21	Sadness	32,439
75	15.24	14.47	14.85	Sadness	35,644
76	15.44	14.57	15.01	Sadness	29,070
77	15.81	14.94	15.38	Sadness	28,463
78	16.33	15.42	15.87	Sadness	27,566
79	16.86	15.89	16.38	Sadness	24,200
80	16.22	15.36	15.79	Sadness	29,500
81	16.86	15.85	16.36	Sadness	21,308
82	16.80	15.77	16.29	Sadness	21,557
83	17.31	16.14	16.73	Sadness	19,173
84	17.45	16.22	16.83	Sadness	16,941
85	17.39	16.26	16.82	Sadness	16,206
86	18.02	16.63	17.33	Sadness	12,375
87	18.75	17.25	18	Sadness	10,439
88	17.43	15.95	16.69	Sadness	9,274
89	17.85	15.99	16.92	Sadness	6,459
90	17.86	15.97	16.91	Sadness	5,984
91	16.87	14.46	15.67	Sadness	3,657
92	17.48	14.65	16.06	Sadness	2,889
93	19.09	15.64	17.36	Sadness	1,889
94	16.40	12.58	14.49	Sadness	1,325
18	17.90	16.84	17.37	Anger	21,725
19	17.82	16.64	17.23	Anger	17,505
20	17.39	16.22	16.80	Anger	17,176
21	16.62	15.50	16.06	Anger	17,653
22	16.70	15.53	16.11	Anger	16,893
23	16.50	15.34	15.92	Anger	17,519
24	16.70	15.54	16.12	Anger	17,415
25	17	15.89	16.45	Anger	19,452
26	16.54	15.42	15.98	Anger	18,145
27	16.64	15.48	16.06	Anger	18,881
28	16.39	15.38	15.89	Anger	20,638
29	16.45	15.39	15.92	Anger	20,017
30	16.47	15.54	16.01	Anger	24,372
31	16.28	15.20	15.74	Anger	19,885
32	16.53	15.52	16.02	Anger	23,096
33	16.61	15.62	16.11	Anger	21,430
34	16.34	15.31	15.82	Anger	21,732
35	16.63	15.68	16.15	Anger	25,373
36	15.95	14.96	15.45	Anger	22,886
37	16.67	15.70	16.18	Anger	24,139
38	16.81	15.90	16.35	Anger	25,720
39	16.07	15.10	15.59	Anger	24,912
40	16.14	15.31	15.73	Anger	32,752
41	16.29	15.36	15.82	Anger	24,943
42	16.10	15.22	15.66	Anger	30,455
43	16.07	15.11	15.59	Anger	28,440
44	15.89	15.02	15.45	Anger	27,888
45	15.47	14.68	15.08	Anger	33,803
46	15.60	14.75	15.17	Anger	31,452
47	15.23	14.43	14.83	Anger	34,243
48	15.50	14.67	15.09	Anger	35,141
49	14.97	14.13	14.55	Anger	35,309
50	14.18	13.50	13.84	Anger	48,561
51	14.44	13.65	14.05	Anger	35,897
52	13.91	13.16	13.54	Anger	42,908
53	14.25	13.55	13.90	Anger	40,709
54	13.60	12.90	13.25	Anger	41,424
55	13.37	12.70	13.03	Anger	46,109
56	13.12	12.41	12.77	Anger	41,967
57	12.84	12.12	12.48	Anger	42,926
58	12.45	11.81	12.13	Anger	43,889
59	12.04	11.35	11.70	Anger	43,045
60	11.80	11.18	11.49	Anger	52,398
61	11.37	10.74	11.06	Anger	41,472
62	11.04	10.45	10.74	Anger	48,829
63	10.79	10.16	10.47	Anger	42,777
64	10.34	9.72	10.03	Anger	43,060
65	9.81	9.20	9.51	Anger	49,538
66	9.44	8.84	9.14	Anger	39,393
67	9.03	8.37	8.70	Anger	39,366
68	9.04	8.43	8.73	Anger	37,753
69	8.56	7.96	8.26	Anger	34,814
70	8.37	7.79	8.08	Anger	41,384
71	8.33	7.73	8.03	Anger	30,318
72	8.02	7.42	7.72	Anger	32,575
73	7.92	7.29	7.61	Anger	29,791
74	7.54	6.89	7.22	Anger	27,289
75	7.41	6.80	7.11	Anger	30,195
76	7.39	6.77	7.08	Anger	24,672
77	7.20	6.56	6.88	Anger	24,157
78	7.06	6.41	6.73	Anger	23,509
79	6.71	5.97	6.34	Anger	20,765
80	6.52	5.90	6.21	Anger	25,434
81	6.63	5.88	6.25	Anger	18,439
82	6	5.29	5.64	Anger	18,622
83	6.21	5.46	5.83	Anger	16,473
84	5.81	4.98	5.39	Anger	14,523
85	6.28	5.44	5.86	Anger	13,922
86	5.66	4.82	5.24	Anger	10,594
87	5.77	4.82	5.29	Anger	8,862
88	5.07	4.20	4.64	Anger	7,914
89	5.57	4.36	4.96	Anger	5,481
90	5.50	4.26	4.88	Anger	5,041
91	4.84	3.49	4.16	Anger	3,074
92	5.37	3.72	4.55	Anger	2,420
93	5.46	3.44	4.45	Anger	1,574
94	5.51	3.23	4.37	Anger	1,099
18	14.98	14.21	14.59	Physical pain	28,574
19	15.53	14.63	15.08	Physical pain	23,261
20	16.19	15.21	15.70	Physical pain	23,027
21	16.13	15.12	15.63	Physical pain	23,787
22	16.41	15.39	15.90	Physical pain	22,818
23	16.14	15.11	15.62	Physical pain	23,611
24	16.64	15.58	16.11	Physical pain	23,454
25	16.70	15.67	16.19	Physical pain	26,046
26	16.59	15.54	16.06	Physical pain	23,861
27	17.39	16.33	16.86	Physical pain	24,770
28	17.06	16.09	16.57	Physical pain	26,621
29	17.21	16.22	16.71	Physical pain	25,890
30	17.31	16.36	16.83	Physical pain	31,454
31	17.80	16.70	17.25	Physical pain	25,454
32	18.09	17.13	17.61	Physical pain	29,622
33	18.26	17.22	17.74	Physical pain	27,400
34	18.09	17.06	17.58	Physical pain	27,960
35	18.25	17.28	17.76	Physical pain	32,611
36	18.91	17.90	18.41	Physical pain	28,995
37	19.27	18.28	18.77	Physical pain	30,039
38	19.02	18.07	18.55	Physical pain	31,640
39	19.61	18.53	19.07	Physical pain	30,629
40	19.67	18.74	19.20	Physical pain	40,310
41	20.37	19.32	19.85	Physical pain	30,012
42	20.76	19.73	20.25	Physical pain	37,134
43	21.82	20.81	21.31	Physical pain	34,706
44	22.33	21.17	21.75	Physical pain	34,244
45	22.23	21.19	21.71	Physical pain	41,586
46	23.47	22.41	22.94	Physical pain	38,198
47	24.38	23.27	23.83	Physical pain	41,474
48	25.31	24.25	24.78	Physical pain	42,376
49	25.66	24.59	25.12	Physical pain	42,562
50	25.61	24.57	25.09	Physical pain	59,291
51	27.47	26.29	26.88	Physical pain	43,410
52	26.88	25.80	26.34	Physical pain	52,500
53	28.15	27.05	27.60	Physical pain	49,738
54	28.39	27.34	27.86	Physical pain	50,954
55	28.16	27.12	27.64	Physical pain	56,786
56	29.02	27.98	28.50	Physical pain	51,524
57	29.27	28.22	28.74	Physical pain	52,831
58	29.50	28.51	29	Physical pain	54,069
59	29.48	28.46	28.97	Physical pain	53,045
60	28.67	27.69	28.18	Physical pain	65,070
61	29.39	28.40	28.90	Physical pain	50,842
62	29.29	28.36	28.83	Physical pain	60,276
63	29.33	28.37	28.85	Physical pain	53,010
64	28.36	27.42	27.89	Physical pain	53,742
65	26.96	26.07	26.51	Physical pain	62,191
66	27.15	26.26	26.71	Physical pain	50,128
67	27.40	26.52	26.96	Physical pain	50,937
68	26.92	25.96	26.44	Physical pain	48,643
69	27.01	26.08	26.54	Physical pain	43,860
70	25.76	24.88	25.32	Physical pain	53,255
71	26.55	25.59	26.07	Physical pain	38,542
72	26.42	25.46	25.94	Physical pain	41,689
73	26.54	25.59	26.07	Physical pain	37,738
74	26.55	25.54	26.04	Physical pain	34,693
75	26.47	25.54	26.01	Physical pain	37,873
76	27.11	26.11	26.61	Physical pain	30,802
77	27.23	26.15	26.69	Physical pain	30,148
78	26.90	25.84	26.37	Physical pain	29,063
79	27.05	25.91	26.48	Physical pain	25,544
80	25.98	24.98	25.48	Physical pain	31,099
81	27.08	25.88	26.48	Physical pain	22,405
82	27.61	26.41	27.01	Physical pain	22,630
83	27.75	26.48	27.12	Physical pain	20,190
84	27.44	26.10	26.77	Physical pain	17,760
85	27.04	25.74	26.39	Physical pain	17,070
86	27.71	26.23	26.97	Physical pain	13,006
87	28.73	27.05	27.89	Physical pain	11,042
88	26.85	25.16	26.01	Physical pain	9,766
89	27.81	25.54	26.67	Physical pain	6,827
90	25.95	23.82	24.89	Physical pain	6,381
91	27.16	24.38	25.77	Physical pain	3,896
92	27.92	24.78	26.35	Physical pain	3,101
93	26.80	23.17	24.99	Physical pain	2,045
94	26.09	21.57	23.83	Physical pain	1,448

Every deprivation third shows a midlife low

The chapter also asks whether the age profile changes with place. It ranks interviews by the Area Deprivation IndexArea Deprivation Index (ADI)A score that ranks neighborhoods by income, education, employment and housing conditions drawn from the American Community Survey. In this book a higher national percentile means a more deprived neighborhood. of the respondent's county and cuts them into three groups of about equal numbers of interviews, which are thirds of interviews and not of counties. The ladder has a midlife low and a later rise in all three groups, and the midlife fall is deeper in the most deprived third. Most feelings show little gap between places, and physical pain, more common in the most deprived third, is the exception. The groups describe where a person lives, and counties differ in income, age mix and much else, so the comparison does not say what place does to well-being. Chapter 6.3, Life evaluation and daily feelings compares the ladder and the feelings across places at all ages.

What this poll cannot tell you

The profiles mix age, birth cohort and the years in which each group was interviewed, and data from one decade cannot separate the three. The oldest adults are survivors, and these data cannot say in which direction survival moves a profile. Two panel studies that follow the same people reach opposite conclusions about the middle-age dip, and this poll, whose respondents are interviewed once, cannot arbitrate between them.[5][6] The deprivation index describes counties as of 2023, later than the interviews, and it understates deprivation in high-cost cities.

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Go deeper

• The report: every estimate with its interval and sample size.
• Tables: every figure of the report as a table.

Same question at another grain:

• Age and well-being
  • Chapter 4.5, Mental distress in young adults Individuals

Data sources

• Gallup U.S. Daily PollGallup U.S. Daily tracking poll, 2008-2017: Cantril ladder score (2009-2017), feelings yesterday, age, household income, sex, marital status, education and self-rated health; aggregates onlyYears: 2008-2017 · Weights: none (unweighted) · License: Proprietary Gallup microdata; respondent-level rows are not published
• Area Deprivation IndexArea Deprivation Index 2023, national rank, tract ranks averaged to counties and joined to the county of each interview (2008-2017)Years: 2023 release (version 4.0.1; built on ACS 2019-2023) · Weights: 2019-2023 tract population · License: Free for non-commercial use; cite the Neighborhood Atlas and Kind and Buckingham
• American Community SurveyACS 2019-2023 tract population, the weight for averaging tract deprivation ranks to countiesYears: 2019-2023 (5-year) · Weights: 2019-2023 tract population · License: Public domain (U.S. Census Bureau)

All data sources

References

1. Stone, Arthur A.; Schwartz, Joseph E.; Broderick, Joan E.; Deaton, Angus (2010). A snapshot of the age distribution of psychological well-being in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(22): 9985-9990. doi:10.1073/pnas.1003744107
2. Blanchflower, David G.; Oswald, Andrew J. (2008). Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle?. Social Science & Medicine 66(8): 1733-1749. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.01.030
3. Deaton, Angus (2012). The financial crisis and the well-being of Americans: 2011 OEP Hicks Lecture. Oxford Economic Papers 64(1): 1-26. doi:10.1093/oep/gpr051
4. Glenn, Norval (2009). Is the apparent U-shape of well-being over the life course a result of inappropriate use of control variables? A commentary on Blanchflower and Oswald (66: 8, 2008, 1733-1749). Social Science & Medicine 69(4): 481-485. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.05.038
5. Frijters, Paul; Beatton, Tony (2012). The mystery of the U-shaped relationship between happiness and age. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 82(2-3): 525-542. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2012.03.008
6. Cheng, Terence C.; Powdthavee, Nattavudh; Oswald, Andrew J. (2017). Longitudinal evidence for a midlife nadir in human well-being: results from four data sets. The Economic Journal 127(599): 126-142. doi:10.1111/ecoj.12256

How to cite

@misc{singh2026wellbeingacrossthelifespan,
  author = {Singh, Vishal},
  title = {Well-being across the life span},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/well-being-across-the-life-span},
  note = {In ZIP Code Destiny. Published 9 October 2026.}
}