Are married people happier than those who are not? A new poll has answers

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN

Updated 7:35 AM EST, Fri February 9, 2024

Being married was associated with significantly higher reports of happiness, the data showed.

CNN —

A happier life after getting married may not just be in fairy tales. It’s in the data, too.

Adults who are married report being far happier than those in any other relationship status, according to a Gallup Poll published Friday.

“Any way you analyze those data, we see a fairly large and notable advantage to being married in terms of how people evaluate their life,” said poll author Jonathan Rothwell, principal economist at Gallup.

From 2009 to 2023, more than 2.5 million adults in the United States were asked how they would rate their current life, with zero being the worst possible rating and 10 being the highest. Then the researchers asked respondents what they anticipated their happiness level would be in five years.

Over the survey period, married people consistently reported their happiness levels higher than their unmarried counterparts, ranging from 12% to 24% higher depending on the year, according to the data.

The gap was there even when researchers adjusted for factors such as age, race, ethnicity, gender and education, the survey said.

Education is a strong predictor of happiness, but the data showed that married adults who did not attend high school evaluate their lives more favorably than unmarried adults with a graduate degree.

“Things like race and age and gender and education matter. But marriage seems to matter more than those things when it comes to something like this measure of kind of living your best life,” said Bradford Wilcox, professor of sociology and director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. Wilcox reviewed and edited the Gallup Poll research.

“We’re social animals. And as Aristotle said, we are hardwired to connect,” he added.

A difference in how we are picking partners

Maybe the happiness tied to marriage has something to do with what people expect from it, said Ian Kerner, a licensed marriage and family therapist and CNN relationships contributor.

“In my practice over the last decade I’ve noticed a gradual shift from the ‘romantic marriage’ to the ‘companionate marriage,’ meaning that people are increasingly choosing spouses at the outset who are more like best friends than passion-partners,” Kerner said via email.

While doing so may lead to problems with attraction, it also means those people are choosing partners based on qualities likely to promote long-term stability and satisfaction, he said.

Do I need to get married to be happier?

There is a lot that we can learn from the data, but it is difficult to say whether marriage is the reason for higher levels of happiness, Rothwell said.

It could be that people who have qualities that tend to lead to more consistent happiness are also those who would seek out marriage, the survey said.

“There’s also famously, for men anyway, a premium associated with being married in terms of earning higher income,” Rothwell said. “There’s lots of debate in the literature about whether that’s because more successful, charming, intelligent men who have attributes that would lead them to earn more in the labor market are more likely to get married.”

The quality of marriages, however, can vary based on individual circumstances, societal changes and the cultural outlook on marriage, he added.

For example, in communities where marriage is often a practical necessity, the data shows a smaller effect on happiness than in those where individuals feel more able to choose their status and partner, Rothwell said.

And Rothwell doesn’t imagine being in an unhappy marriage will leave you feeling better in life overall.

“I still believe that those who have unhappy marriages, are probably less happy than those who are single,” he said.

Are married people happier than those who are not? A new poll has answers

结婚的人比不结婚的人更幸福吗？一项新的民意调查给出答案

A happier life after getting married may not just be in fairy tales. It’s in the data, too.

结婚后生活更幸福可能不仅仅是在童话故事中，数据显示也是如此。

Adults who are married report being far happier than those in any other relationship status, according to a Gallup Poll published Friday.

根据周五公布的一项Gallup民意调查，结婚的成年人比其他任何关系状态的人都要快乐得多。

“Any way you analyze those data, we see a fairly large and notable advantage to being married in terms of how people evaluate their life,” said poll author Jonathan Rothwell, principal economist at Gallup.

“无论如何分析这些数据，我们都会发现，就人们如何评价自己的生活而言，结婚有着相当大而显著的优势”，Gallup首席经济学家、民意调查的作者Jonathan Rothwell说道。

From 2009 to 2023, more than 2.5 million adults in the United States were asked how they would rate their current life, with zero being the worst possible rating and 10 being the highest. Then the researchers asked respondents what they anticipated their happiness level would be in five years.

从2009年到2023年，研究人员询问了美国250多万成年人关于他们对当前生活的评价，其中0分是最差的，10分是最高的。同时他们也询问受访者，他们预计五年后的幸福水平是怎么样的。

Over the survey period, married people consistently reported their happiness levels higher than their unmarried counterparts, ranging from 12% to 24% higher depending on the year, according to the data.

数据显示，在这段调查期间内，结婚的人的幸福感一直高于未结婚的，根据年份的不同，幸福感提升从12%到24%不等。

The gap was there even when researchers adjusted for factors such as age, race, ethnicity, gender and education, the survey said.

调查称，即使研究人员根据年龄、种族、民族、性别和教育等因素进行了调整，这种差距也存在。

Education is a strong predictor of happiness, but the data showed that married adults who did not attend high school evaluate their lives more favorably than unmarried adults with a graduate degree.

教育是幸福感的强有力因素，但数据显示，没有上高中的结婚成年人比拥有研究生学位的未婚成年人对自己的生活评价更高。

“Things like race and age and gender and education matter. But marriage seems to matter more than those things when it comes to something like this measure of kind of living your best life,” said Bradford Wilcox, professor of sociology and director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. Wilcox reviewed and edited the Gallup Poll research.

“种族、年龄、性别和教育等因素都很重要，但当涉及到这种衡量你过上最好生活的标准时，婚姻似乎比这些因素更重要”，Virginia大学社会学教授兼国家婚姻项目主任Bradford Wilcox说道。Wilcox审核并编辑了该Gallup调查的研究。

“We’re social animals. And as Aristotle said, we are hardwired to connect,” he added.

“我们是社会性动物。正如亚里士多德所说，我们天生就是有联系”。

A difference in how we are picking partners

我们在选择伴侣上的不同

Maybe the happiness tied to marriage has something to do with what people expect from it, said Ian Kerner, a licensed marriage and family therapist and CNN relationships contributor.

婚姻和家庭治疗师、CNN关系撰稿人Ian Kerner说，也许与婚姻有关的幸福感与人们对婚姻的期望有关。

“In my practice over the last decade I’ve noticed a gradual shift from the ‘romantic marriage’ to the ‘companionate marriage,’ meaning that people are increasingly choosing spouses at the outset who are more like best friends than passion-partners,” Kerner said via email.

“在过去十年的实践中，我注意到从‘浪漫婚姻’逐渐转变为‘伴侣婚姻’这种趋势，这意味着人们越来越多地从一开始就选择更像是最好的朋友而不是激情伴侣的配偶”，kerner在邮件中说道。

While doing so may lead to problems with attraction, it also means those people are choosing partners based on qualities likely to promote long-term stability and satisfaction, he said.

他说，虽然这样做可能会导致吸引力方面的问题，但这也意味着这些人选择伴侣的依据是能促进长期稳定和提高满意度的一些品质。

Do I need to get married to be happier?

我需要为了更幸福而去结婚吗？

There is a lot that we can learn from the data, but it is difficult to say whether marriage is the reason for higher levels of happiness, Rothwell said.

我们可以从这些数据中学到很多东西，但很难说婚姻是否是更高幸福感的原因，Rothwell说道。

It could be that people who have qualities that tend to lead to more consistent happiness are also those who would seek out marriage, the survey said.

这也可能是那些拥有这些品质感到更多幸福的人也是那些寻求结婚的人，该调查称。

“There’s also famously, for men anyway, a premium associated with being married in terms of earning higher income,” Rothwell said. “There’s lots of debate in the literature about whether that’s because more successful, charming, intelligent men who have attributes that would lead them to earn more in the labor market are more likely to get married.”

“对于男性来说，结婚的人收入也更高，这是出了名的”，Rothwell说道，“关于这是否是因为更成功、更有魅力、更聪明的男人更有可能结婚，文献中有很多争论，这些男人的特质会让他们在劳动力市场上赚得更多”。

The quality of marriages, however, can vary based on individual circumstances, societal changes and the cultural outlook on marriage, he added.

然而，婚姻的质量可能会因个人情况、社会变化和婚姻文化观的不同而有所不同，他说道。

For example, in communities where marriage is often a practical necessity, the data shows a smaller effect on happiness than in those where individuals feel more able to choose their status and partner, Rothwell said.

例如，数据显示，那些认为婚姻通常是必需的社区，与那些更能选择自己的状况和伴侣的社区相比，婚姻对幸福感的影响较小。

And Rothwell doesn’t imagine being in an unhappy marriage will leave you feeling better in life overall.

Rothwell并不认为不幸福的婚姻会让你的生活总体上更好。

“I still believe that those who have unhappy marriages, are probably less happy than those who are single,” he said.

“我仍然相信，那些婚姻不幸福的人不如单身的人幸福”，他说道。