Are Older People Really Happier Than Younger People?

“Older people are happier people.”

This statement, which summarizes the results of numerous surveys and polls of people from 149 countries, was astonishing to me when I first read it. Possibly because of my own internalized stereotypes about aging, I found it hard to believe that older people were happier than younger or middle-aged people. But, according to multiple studies, it was true. In fact, it was true of me. I was so fascinated by this counter-intuitive finding that I wrote an entire book, Silver Sparks, about happiness and aging.

I based my book, in part, on the research reported in the 2018 book The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, by Jonathan Rauch. The data cited by Rauch strongly confirms that happiness is high among 20-34-year-olds, plummets in midlife, and begins to rise steadily again at about the age of 51, continuing to ascend through the mid-80s, and rising above the level of the 20-34 year-old cohort. Appropriately enough, the graph of happiness forms a U-curve, rather like a lop-sided grin.

Recent research shows that happiness graphs can vary widely between countries and don’t necessarily take the shape of a U-curve. But, on the whole, the results seem to have held up.

Still, questions remain. A major one is: Is happiness among older people the same as happiness among younger people? And what are we talking about when we talk about happiness anyway?

Happiness can be viewed in two ways. One type of happiness involves seeking pleasure and avoiding pain—hedonism. But happiness can also refer to “life satisfaction”, that is, the sense that one’s life has meaning and purpose. Psychologists often group both these types of happiness under the umbrella term, “subjective well-being” (SWB).

Now the fascinating question: Do all age groups experience happiness in the same way? Or, are there differences as we age? Recently, I came across a study that provided a satisfying answer to these questions.

What Kind of Happiness Is Linked With Each Age Group?

The Karwetsky (2022) study examined happiness across the life span, distinguishing between the two dimensions of happiness mentioned above—one, pleasure, which they termed “momentary happiness,” and, two, “life satisfaction,” encompassing a sense of purpose and perspective. “Momentary happiness” included “pleasure, peak moments, and positive moods.” “Life satisfaction” was defined as “people’s explicit and conscious evaluations of their lives.”

The study population consisted of 1597 participants from Germany, aged 10 to 99, without cognitive impairment. Study participants were asked three questions: 1. How happy are you at this moment? 2. How satisfied are you with your life in general? Participants were asked to rate their responses on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being very unhappy/dissatisfied and 100 being very happy/very satisfied. These two questions were followed by an open-ended question: 3. “What matters most to you in life?”

To explore the relationship between age and happiness, participants were divided into four groups: youth/early adulthood (up to age 29); building a family and career (30-49); late midlife (50-69); and late life (70 and older). In addition to age, answers were also analyzed using other socioeconomic variables like health, partnership, grandchildren, and religiosity.

How Does Happiness Change Over the Lifespan: Results

Among the conclusions of this study were the following:

1. Of the two kinds of happiness, it was “life satisfaction” that increased with age. To quote the researchers, “Momentary happiness is less of a prerequisite for life satisfaction in older than in younger people.”
2. Partnership, grandchildren, and religiosity were associated with increased life satisfaction regardless of age. Financial worries were negatively associated with life satisfaction, especially in the 50–69 age group.
3. The data indicated that while being in poor health reduced happiness, poor health status did not detract from life satisfaction as much in older individuals. One possible explanation is that older people might consider having some health problems as being an inevitable part of aging, and thus either perceive them with a more philosophical attitude or simply learn to adjust to them as time passes.
4. When graphed, happiness took the shape of a U-shaped curve as in the research cited above.

There are several striking results in this research. The fact that health problems interfere less with happiness in the older group is something I would not have predicted. And it is intriguing to realize that momentary happiness is less of a prerequisite for life satisfaction in older than in younger people. Could the ability to see beyond momentary happiness or unhappiness be part of what we mean when we say older people are wiser people?

Happiness Lessons

The research implies at least three ways to become happier, now and in the future:

1. Nurture your most important relationships. The study’s finding that “having a partnership” was correlated with life satisfaction falls squarely in line with the long-running Harvard Study of Adult Development which found that close relationships were the key to happiness and even longevity as we age.
2. Build a strong financial foundation for your old age. Financial worries are negatively associated with happiness, especially in middle age. (They can also undermine brain health, as I write here.)
3. Build a life you can be proud of as you age. To paraphrase Aristotle, happiness is a reward for the life well-lived.

Key Takeaway

Research on happiness in older age leads to the inescapable conclusion that life satisfaction increases with age, even under challenging circumstances.

(c) Meg Selig, 2026. All rights reserved.