Americans’ outlook for their lives in about five years has deteriorated sharply, according to a Gallup poll that uses ratings of current and future well-being on a 0-to-10 scale. In 2025, only about 59% of Americans gave their “future” life a rating of 8 or higher, Gallup said—its lowest annual measure since the question began nearly 20 years ago. Gallup also reported that the number of people in its “thriving” category is under half, reflecting a combination of strong ratings for both the present and the anticipated future.
The poll’s framing centers on how Americans see their near-term lives rather than on one-time events. Gallup measures whether respondents give themselves a rating of 8 or higher for the future and, separately, rates whether current life satisfaction is at least a 7. Those who meet both thresholds are considered “thriving,” a category Gallup said includes about 48% of Americans.
Dan Witters, research director of the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index, said the data show current life satisfaction eroding while optimism for the future fell “almost twice as much” over roughly the last decade. He said the “current” and “future” lines have tended to move together over time, with people generally feeling better about the present also tending to be more optimistic about the future. In the most recent measures, however, Gallup found the future decline outpaced the present decline.
The shift showed up across political groups as well. The poll found Democrats’ optimism fell from 65% to 57% from late in Joe Biden’s term to the start of Donald Trump’s second term. Gallup also found that Republicans became more hopeful during the same period, but not enough to offset Democrats’ drop, meaning the overall decline persisted even after a political transition.
Witters pointed to the change in the White House as a driver of the pattern. He said the “regime change in the White House almost certainly was a big driving factor” and added that the change largely reflected what Democrats reported about their own outlook. He also noted that Democrats and Republicans have often changed by roughly similar magnitude when power shifts, which in past cases tended to “cancel each other out,” a dynamic he said did not occur in 2025.
Hispanic adults were also among the groups reporting larger deterioration. Gallup said Hispanic adults’ optimism for the near future fell from 69% to 63% in 2025, compared with the prior year. Witters said the sharper decline could be related to cost concerns, health care worries, or alarm tied to Trump’s immigration policies.
The report connected that concern to how visible immigration enforcement has been. It cited a Pew Research Center poll conducted in October that found about 6 in 10 Latinos said they had seen or heard of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids or arrests in their community during the prior six months. Witters said, “(Deportations are) something that everybody can see and look at with their own eyes,” and added that, “if you’re Hispanic, I think it’s fair to think that that might hit a little closer to home.”
Gallup said the findings are part of the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index. It said 2025 results are based on data collected over four quarterly measurement periods totaling 22,125 interviews with U.S. adults drawn from the probability-based Gallup Panel.