A new Gallup poll shows a disturbing trend: Younger people are getting increasingly unhappy, and now less than half of Gen Z say they are actually “thriving,” with the biggest decline happening after 2019.

Meanwhile, for baby boomers, it’s just the opposite (more on that below).

A look at the numbers shows only 44% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they are “thriving” so far in 2026, which is on pace to be 20 percentage points lower than the high of 64% measured in 2010, according to Gallup’s Life Evaluation Index poll.

A closer look at the data shows self-reported happiness started declining modestly in the 2010s, down to 57%, but took a real nosedive after 2019, plummeting to just 39%.

Why is that? As Gallup notes, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 took a mental health toll on everyone—but especially Gen Z, as they were subjected to online school and tremendous isolation from their peers at a young age.

For its index, Gallup classified Americans as “thriving,” “struggling,” or “suffering” according to how they rated their current and future lives on a scale from 0 to 10, based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. A 7 or higher is classified as “thriving.”

By 2023, the percentage of Gen Z that was “thriving” rebounded to 51%—only to fall again in 2026. So, why the low?

According to Gallup, an increase in the depression rate, a deterioration in the quality of close relationships, a major reduction in daily experiences of enjoyment, and a significant corrosion in feeling active and productive each day may explain the decline.

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