Eighty-six percent of Americans said they are satisfied with the way things are going in their personal lives, maintaining the improved levels Gallup has measured in recent years. The vast majority of Americans have been content with the direction of their lives over the 40 years Gallup has tracked this measure, with satisfaction dipping only as low as 73% in July 1979 during the energy crisis.Notable dips have been recorded along with other U.S. economic downturns, including the recession in the early 1990s as well as the years leading up to and after the 2008 global financial crisis. The 2017 measure of 87% satisfied was the highest level of Americans’ satisfaction with their personal lives since 2003, marking a return to the pre-Great Recession norm.Most Americans said the
