Older Americans, Those Who Are Religious, and Even Political Party Members are Happier

Money also helps

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Jun 03, 2015, 05:00 ET

NEW YORK, June 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- How many adults do you know who you'd consider to be very happy? Would you include yourself in that count? Statistically speaking, there's about a one in three chance that you do: The Harris Poll^® Happiness Index, which uses a series of questions to calculate Americans' overall happiness, finds that roughly a third of Americans (34%) are very happy.

The Happiness Index looks at what's on the minds of Americans today, and reflects attitudes toward the state of affairs in our country. What's more, it offers a glimpse of which segments of our country's population are most and least happy.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,215 U.S. adults surveyed online between April 15 and 20, 2015. Full results of this study, including data tables, can be found here.

Better with age
Those 50 and older (36% ages 50-64, 42% ages 65+) are more likely to be very happy than their younger counterparts (percentages ranging from 30%-32% for adults under 50). Looking at how different generations respond to the series of questions on which the index is based provides some insights into the underlying factors driving these differences:

Matures are more likely than any of their younger counterparts to agree with the statement "At this time I'm generally happy with my life" (92% vs. 82% of Baby Boomers, 78% of Gen Xers and 81% of Millennials). They're also less likely than other generations to indicate frequently worrying about their financial situation (49% vs. 61%, 71% and 75%) and – as one might expect, given that they're past the age of retirement – to report work frustrations (8% vs. 25%, 41% and 44%).
On the other hand, Millennials are more likely than any of their elders to indicate being optimistic about the future (81% vs. 71% Gen Xers, 72% Baby Boomers, 70% Matures).

Women also happier
The Happiness Index also finds women (36%) are more likely than men (33%) to be very happy. A few specific factors appear to be driving this, with women more likely to agree that…

"My relationships with friends bring me happiness" (92% women vs. 88% men)
"At this time I'm generally happy with my life" (85% vs. 79%)
"My spiritual beliefs are a positive guiding force for me" (77% vs. 64%)

Something to believe in
Many Americans look to a religious community or belief system – regardless of what religion they ascribe to – for comfort and support, and religious affiliation and practices appear to make Americans more likely to be very happy.

Those who describe themselves as very or somewhat religious (38%) are more likely to be very happy than those who are not very or not at all religious (29%).
Looking at a more behavioral measure of religious engagement, those who attend religious services regularly (42% among those attending weekly or more, 35% among those attending a few times per year or 1-2 times per month) are more likely to be very happy than those who don't (31% once a year or less, 30% never).

Another factor seemingly playing a role in happiness is one's political belief system. Both Republicans and Democrats (36% each) are more likely than Independents (32%) to be very happy.

Money matters
Money may not buy happiness per se, but having it certainly coincides with a higher probability that you're very happy. Americans with annual household incomes under $35,000 are less likely than those earning $35,000 or more to be very happy (30% vs. 35% $35k-<$50k, 34% $50k-<$75k, 35% $75k-<$100k), while those earning $100,000 or more are especially prone to being very happy (38%).

Financial expectations appear to be just as important as what Americans are earning presently:

Those who expect their household financial situation to be better in the next six months (38%) are more likely to be very happy than those expecting it to remain the same (34%) – who, in turn, are more likely to be very happy than those expecting it to get worse (31%).
Looking more broadly at expectations for the U.S. economy as a whole, those expecting it to get better in the coming year are more likely to be very happy (40%) than either those expecting it to stay the same (32%) or those expecting it to get worse (33%).

To see other recent Harris Polls, please visit TheHarrisPoll.com

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TABLE 1a
HAPPINESS INDEX – Trended Breakdowns
The Harris Poll Happiness Index is calculated by taking an average (mean) of those who strongly agree with positive statements and strongly disagree with the negative ones
Base: U.S. adults

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2013	2015
All Adults	35	35	33	33	33	34
Gender
Men	33	34	32	31	32	33
Women	36	36	35	36	35	36
Income
$34,999 or less	32	31	28	33	29	30
$35,000 – $49,999	33	34	34	35	32	35
$50,000 – $74,999	36	39	34	30	35	34
$75,000—$99,999 *	38*	36*	38*	29	35	35
$100,000+	38*	36*	38*	37	38	38
Age
18-24	29	32	26	31	31	32
25-29	31	31	30	31	30	31
30-39	29	31	27	29	28	31
40-49	33	32	31	29	30	30
50-64	36	37	37	37	36	36
65+	47	45	44	42	41	42
Disabilities
People with disabilities	36	33	34	34	31	33
People without disabilities	35	36	33	34	34	35
Political Party
Republican	39	37	34	34	35	36
Democrat	33	36	34	36	35	36
Independent	34	33	33	32	32	32
Education
High school or less	35	33	31	32	34	34
Some college	35	36	35	33	32	34
College graduate	34	36	34	35	32	36
Post graduate	36	39	36	39	38	37

Note: *indicates this was a net of $75K+ in those years

TABLE 1b
HAPPINESS INDEX – Additional Breakdowns
The Harris Poll Happiness Index is calculated by taking an average (mean) of those who strongly agree with positive statements and strongly disagree with the negative ones
Base: U.S. adults

	2015
All Adults	34
Region
East	34
Midwest	35
South	35
West	34
Children <18 in household
Yes	33
No	35
Metro status
Urban	33
Suburban	35
Rural	36
Expectations for HH financial outlook for next 6 months
Expect it to be worse	31
Expect it to remain the same	34
Expect it to be better	38
Expectations for U.S. economy in the coming year
Expect it to get worse	33
Expect it to stay the same	32
Expect it to get better	40
Religiosity (self-assessed)
Not at all/Not very religious	29
Very/Somewhat religious	38
Attend religious services
Never	30
Once a year or less	31
Few times per year/1-2 times per month	35
Weekly or more	42

TABLE 2a
HAPPINESS INDEX STATEMENTS – SUMMARY GRID
"Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statements."
Base: U.S. adults

		AGREE (NET)	Strongly agree	Somewhat agree	DISAGREE (NET)	Somewhat disagree	Strongly disagree	Not at all sure
My relationships with friends bring me happiness	%	90	60	30	6	4	2	4
I have positive relationships with my family members	%	89	65	25	7	4	3	4
At this time, I'm generally happy with my life	%	82	42	40	16	11	5	2
I'm optimistic about the future	%	75	34	41	21	15	6	4
I feel my voice is not heard in national decisions that affect me	%	72	39	34	21	14	6	7
My spiritual beliefs are a positive guiding force to me	%	71	43	28	23	11	13	6
I frequently worry about my financial situation	%	67	32	35	31	19	12	3
I rarely worry about my health	%	51	16	35	48	33	15	1
I won't get much benefit from the things that I do anytime soon	%	36	10	27	57	34	22	7
My work is frustrating	%	33	11	22	57	24	33	10
I rarely engage in hobbies and pastimes I enjoy	%	31	10	20	68	34	33	2

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100 percent due to rounding

TABLE 2b
HAPPINESS INDEX STATEMENTS – TREND
"Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statements."
Percent saying "Strongly/Somewhat Agree"
Base: U.S. adults

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2013	2015
	%	%	%	%	%	%
My relationships with friends brings me happiness	93	91	91	93	90	90
I have positive relationships with my family members	92	90	92	91	90	89
At this time I'm generally happy with my life	83	81	80	80	77	82
I'm optimistic about the future	na	na	na	75	67	75
I feel my voice is not heard in national decisions that affect me	73	67	72	74	75	72
My spiritual beliefs are a positive guiding force to me	77	74	73	74	73	71
I frequently worry about my financial situation	65	67	66	68	65	67
I rarely worry about my health	49	54	52	50	52	51
I won't get much benefit from the things that I do anytime soon	na	na	na	38	42	36
My work is frustrating	37	36	38	39	34	33
I rarely engage in hobbies and pastimes I enjoy	32	33	34	33	36	31

TABLE 2c
HAPPINESS INDEX STATEMENTS – By Generation & Gender
"Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statements."
Percent saying "Strongly/Somewhat Agree"
Base: U.S. adults

	Total 2015	Generation				Gender
	Total 2015	Millennials (18-37)	Gen X (38-49)	Baby Boomers (50-68)	Matures (69+)	Men	Women
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
My relationships with friends brings me happiness	90	89	92	91	88	88	92
I have positive relationships with my family members	89	89	91	89	88	88	90
At this time I'm generally happy with my life	82	81	78	82	92	79	85
I'm optimistic about the future	75	81	71	72	70	73	77
I feel my voice is not heard in national decisions that affect me	72	73	70	72	78	75	70
My spiritual beliefs are a positive guiding force to me	71	65	72	76	74	64	77
I frequently worry about my financial situation	67	75	71	61	49	65	68
I rarely worry about my health	51	56	52	47	46	54	49
I won't get much benefit from the things that I do anytime soon	36	35	44	34	36	39	34
My work is frustrating	33	44	41	25	8	35	31
I rarely engage in hobbies and pastimes I enjoy	31	32	39	27	25	31	31

Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online, in English, within the United States between April 15 and 20, 2015 among 2,215 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, The Harris Poll avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of The Harris Poll.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The Harris Poll^® #30, June 3, 2015
By Larry Shannon-Missal, Managing Editor, The Harris Poll

About The Harris Poll^®Begun in 1963, The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys measuring public opinion in the U.S. and is highly regarded throughout the world. The nationally representative polls, conducted primarily online, measure the knowledge, opinions, behaviors and motivations of the general public. New and trended polls on a wide variety of subjects including politics, the economy, healthcare, foreign affairs, science and technology, sports and entertainment, and lifestyles are published weekly. For more information, or to see other recent polls, visit the TheHarrisPoll.com.

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SOURCE The Harris Poll