The World Is Getting Happier — Just Not If You’re Under 30
Young and youngish Americans are the least happy they’ve ever been.
Something feels off — and now we have the data to show it
For the first time since the rankings began, the U.S. has dropped out of the world’s top 20 happiest countries.
That alone might not come as a shock.
But here’s the part that stands out: young Americans — people under 30 — are now significantly less happy than older generations.
This shift is full reversal of what’s been true for decades.
In fact, the U.S. ranks 62nd in happiness for people under 30.
Sixty-second.
For comparison, older adults in the U.S. (those over 60) still rank 10th globally.
It’s a pretty striking contrast. And it reflects something a lot of people have already been feeling: the day-to-day is heavier lately. People are tired. Disconnected. Searching for meaning, stability, and support — and not always finding it.
The 2025 World Happiness Report doesn’t offer a quick fix. But it does give us a moment to pause and take stock of what’s actually going on — and what could help.
What is the World Happiness Report?
Every year, researchers publish the World Happiness Report — a global study that ranks countries based on how satisfied people feel with their lives.
It’s built on survey data from the Gallup World Poll, where people are asked one key question:
“On a scale from 0 to 10, how satisfied are you with your life these days?”
From there, the report looks at six major factors that shape wellbeing:
Social support
Physical and mental health
Income
Freedom to make life choices
Generosity
Trust in government and institutions
This isn’t about who’s the most cheerful. It’s about who feels supported, secure, and connected — and what kinds of systems and relationships help make that possible.
The report is released every March. And while it zooms out on a global scale, the insights hit close to home — especially for a generation navigating career uncertainty, rising costs, and a mental health crisis, all at once.
Why are young people in the U.S. so unhappy right now?
There isn’t just one reason. But there are patterns — and they’re hard to ignore.
Young people, now being referred to as The Anxious Generation, today are navigating a mix of stressors that didn’t exist a generation ago. Or if they did, they’ve gotten louder, faster, and harder to manage.
Financial pressure. Mental health struggles. Constant comparison.
A sense that things should be different by now, but aren’t.
The World Happiness Report doesn’t try to explain it all — but it does highlight a few key factors that are likely contributing to the drop:
Rising loneliness. More people are living alone, working remotely, and spending less time in shared community spaces. It adds up.
Money stress. Housing costs, student debt, and inflation are eating away at any sense of stability.
Work pressure. Burnout is high, especially in jobs that lack flexibility, growth, or meaning.
Mental health gaps. Therapy is expensive. Waitlists are long. Support isn’t always accessible — and stigma still gets in the way.
Social media. It keeps us connected, but it also feeds the feeling that everyone else is doing better.
None of these are new. But when they pile up, they can leave people feeling isolated — even when they’re surrounded by others. And disconnected — even when they’re technically online 24/7.
There’s no quick fix. But understanding what’s happening is a first step toward changing it.
Happiness isn’t just personal — it’s social
One of the clearest findings from the report? People who feel supported by others tend to be happier.
It’s that simple — and that complicated.
Social support is the number one predictor of life satisfaction across all age groups.
Not income. Not education. Not how many vacations someone took last year.
What matters most is knowing that someone has your back. That when life gets hard (and it will), you’re not facing it completely alone.
But support like that doesn’t always show up on its own — especially in a culture that encourages independence, productivity, and keeping it together.
It has to be built. Nurtured. Protected.
For Gen Z and millennials especially, that kind of connection can feel hard to find.
Friend groups shift. Work relationships stay surface-level. Everyone’s busy or burned out or both.
The result? A quiet, chronic sense of disconnection — even in a world that’s more “connected” than ever.
The report makes the case clearly: when people feel like they belong, when they feel safe asking for help, when they feel seen — happiness goes up. Not because everything is perfect, but because no one is carrying it all alone.
So what do we do with this?
First, we take a breath. This isn’t about overhauling your life overnight. It’s about noticing what’s missing — and getting curious about what could help (did someone say Chicken Banana?).
Because if happiness is dropping, especially for younger generations, it’s not a personal failure. It’s a reflection of what people are carrying. The systems they’re navigating. The support they may not be getting.
And while we can’t change all of that alone, there are ways to start rebuilding the kind of care that actually makes a difference.
Some things that help — not just according to the report, but from real lived experience:
Check in, even when it’s awkward. A quick “thinking of you” text. A voice note. A lunch that isn’t rescheduled three times. Small things count more than we think.
Get intentional about your spaces. Who are the people you can be honest with? Who makes you feel safe, even on the hard days? Put energy there.
Ask for help — and offer it back. No one wants to feel like a burden. But everyone wants to feel useful. That’s the magic of mutual support.
Start where you are. Peer support at work. In group chats. In your building. The people around you are probably feeling the same things. You don’t have to wait to be the one who brings a little more care into the room.
And maybe most importantly: remember that your happiness matters.
Not in a self-help-y, optimize-your-life kind of way — but in a real, human way.
You deserve to feel supported. You deserve to feel connected. You deserve to not just get through the week, but to actually feel good in your life.
That’s not too much to ask. It’s the baseline. And if the numbers are telling us we’re not there yet, it’s not the end of the story — it’s just the beginning of a better one.