The FINANCIAL — As 2017 begins, Americans are more satisfied with their personal lives than they have been in a decade. Eighty-seven percent say they are satisfied with their own life, including 57% who are very satisfied. Both figures have improved since dipping during the recession and are at or near pre-recession levels.
Across most major subgroups, personal satisfaction is higher than a year ago. Republicans are one of the few groups whose personal satisfaction did not increase. The 55% of Republicans who are very satisfied today is essentially unchanged from 56% a year ago. By contrast, Democrats’ personal satisfaction increased from 56% in 2016 to 63% in 2017, according to Gallup.
Republicans had reported consistently higher levels of satisfaction with their personal lives from 2001 to 2007, during George W. Bush’s administration. By December 2008, both Republicans’ and Democrats’ satisfaction with their personal lives declined by nearly equal amounts. While Democrats’ satisfaction rebounded by 2013, Republicans’ remained lower, bottoming out at 51% in 2011, and has not yet returned to pre-2008 levels.
Satisfaction With the Direction of the U.S. Remains Low
While Americans are widely satisfied with their personal lives, they are much less satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., as is usually the case. Overall, 26% of Americans are satisfied with the country’s direction, similar to what Gallup has measured during most of the past year.
Two notable exceptions were right before the election, when satisfaction surged to 37%, and in July, when satisfaction plummeted to 17% after several deadly confrontations around the country between black men and police.
Democrats’ satisfaction with the direction of the country declined slightly to 27% in January 2017 from 30% in December and is well below their 41% average for 2016. Still, Republicans’ satisfaction remains lower, at 22%.
Bottom Line
Americans continue to be satisfied with their personal lives but are dissatisfied with the direction of the country. This is part of a broader pattern in which people typically rate their personal or local situation much better than they do the comparable situation in the country at large. Gallup has noted this pattern in ratings of education, crime and healthcare. Unlike U.S. satisfaction, which has varied widely, Americans’ personal satisfaction has been broadly stable over the years. A majority have said they are satisfied with their personal lives since Gallup first asked the question in 1979.
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