Married people are more happy than those who aren't, study says

Adults who are married are happier than those who aren't, according to a new Gallup Poll.

The study says married adults ages 25 to 50 are 17-percent more likely to be thriving than adults who never married, up from 12-percent in 2009.

While it might not be a significant percentage, it has fluctuated between 2009 and 2023, ranging from a low of 12-percent to a high of 24-percent.

Both married men and married women have a higher well-being of 20-percent compared to their same-sex peers who never married. The same is true even when race is a factor, including American Indian, Asian, Black, Hispanic, Multiracial, and White.

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This doesn't mean that marriage is necessarily the cause of a better life, but it could mean those who are married are persistently happier or have attributes that generate and sustain happiness.

There also appears to be a higher well-being in places with higher marriage rates, with Provo and Ogden, Utah topping the list. No Washington cities landed in the top 10. New Orleans, Cleveland, and Memphis rounded out the bottom ten.

Gallup says married people are "much less likely to be struggling or suffering in their well-being."

To read the full study, click here.