Are We Happy Yet?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FEBRUARY 13, 2006
Paul Taylor, Executive Vice President
Cary Funk, Senior Project Director
Peyton Craighill, Project Director
MEDIA INQUIRIES CONTACT:
Pew Research Center
202 419 4328
http://pewresearch.org
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Are We Happy Yet?
Americans have always had a thing about
happiness. We all have certain unalienable
rights, declares our Declaration of
Independence, among them “life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness.”
So then, a couple of centuries into the chase,
how are we doing?
Alas, only so-so. Just a third (34%) of adults
in this country say they’re very happy,
according to the latest Pew Research Center
survey. Another half say they are pretty happy
and 15% consider themselves not too happy.
These numbers have remained very stable for
a very long time.
About One Third of Americans Are Very Happy
How happy are you these days in your life?
Don't know
1%
Not too happy
15%
Pretty happy
50%
Very happy
34%
Question wording: Generally, how would you say things are these days in your
life--would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?
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The Happiness Trend Line: Barely a Ripple
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
Very happy
Pretty happy
Not too happy
Source: General Social Survey 1972-2004. Question wording: Taken all together, how would you say things
are these days, would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?
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But some of us are happier than
others, and this variance helps to
paint a portrait of the kind of
people Americans are. It also casts
doubt on some of the famous
wisdom on the subject.
For example, remember
grandma’s aphorism about money
not buying happiness? Well, brace
yourself, but dear ole grandma
may have been misinformed. Our
survey shows that nearly half
(49%)