A new Gallup poll shows a disturbing trend: Younger people are getting increasingly unhappy, and now less than half of Gen Z say they are actually “thriving,” with the biggest decline happening after 2019.
Meanwhile, for baby boomers, it’s just the opposite (more on that below).
A look at the numbers shows only 44% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they are “thriving” so far in 2026, which is on pace to be 20 percentage points lower than the high of 64% measured in 2010, according to Gallup’s Life Evaluation Index poll .
A closer look at the data shows self-reported happiness started declining modestly in the 2010s, down to 57%, but took a real nosedive after 2019, plummeting to just 39%.
Why is that? As Gallup notes, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 took a mental health toll on everyone—but especially Gen Z, as they were subjected to online school and tremendous isolation from their peers at a young age.
For its index, Gallup classified Americans as “thriving,” “struggling,” or “suffering” according to how they rated their current and future lives on a scale from 0 to 10, based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale . A 7 or higher is classified as “thriving.”
By 2023, the percentage of Gen Z that was “thriving” rebounded to 51%—only to fall again in 2026. So, why the low?
According to Gallup, an increase in the depression rate, a deterioration in the quality of close relationships, a major reduction in daily experiences of enjoyment, and a significant corrosion in feeling active and productive each day may explain the decline.
And Gen Zers aren’t the only ones having a tough time. Millennials are also struggling. According to the poll, only 45% of 30- to 44-year-olds say they are “thriving,” compared with a high of 62% in 2016 and 2017.
Gen Xers (45- to 64-year-olds) aren’t faring much better, with only 46% reporting they are “thriving” now, which matches their 2008 low.
By contrast, baby boomers, who are 65 or older, are apparently feeling better and better about their lives as they age—reporting the highest satisfaction of all the generations. Gallup data shows that while only 38% identified as “thriving” back in 2008, a whopping 53% feel that way now, matching their record high from 2021.
The main reasons behind the upward trend may be linked to increased financial security and accumulated wealth: 59% said they have enough money to do everything they want to do, a stark increase from 2019. And at the time they were polled, 67% of respondents reported not having worried about money in the past week.
The 2026 estimates are based on three quarterly surveys conducted by Gallup—in February, May, and August—with a total of 15,156 U.S. adults participating from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
