U.S. Mental Health Rating Remains Below Pre-Pandemic Level

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' "excellent" mental health rating remains at a 21-year low amid the COVID-19 pandemic, holding at 34% after dropping to that level a year ago. Before 2020, this measure of Americans' emotional wellbeing consistently reached 42% or higher, averaging 45% from 2001 to 2019.

Today, another 47% rate their mental health as "good," which is a slight improvement from 42% last year. But the combined excellent/good score of 81% is still slightly below its pre-pandemic level of 85%.

The latest findings, from Gallup's Nov. 1-16 poll, suggest that the public continues to grapple with the emotional effects of the pandemic 20 months after it first began in the U.S. In addition to the 81% saying their mental health is excellent or good, 15% describe theirs as "only fair" and 4% as "poor."

Americans' positive evaluations of their mental and emotional wellbeing continue to vary across demographic subgroups. The wellbeing of most groups mirrors the national trend, with their mental health scores worsening last year followed by little to no improvement this year. However, Democrats' mental health rating has been steady at a relatively low level since 2019 while frequent churchgoers' has been steadily high.

Democrats' "excellent" rating of their emotional wellbeing has consistently been the lowest among the three major party groups, ranging from 28% to 30% over the past three years. Meanwhile, 44% of U.S. adults who attend religious services weekly rate their mental health more positively than do those who attend about monthly (38%) or seldom or never (29%).

	2019	2020	2021
	%	%	%
Gender
Men	49	41	40
Women	37	27	29
Age
18 to 34	39	32	30
35 to 54	43	33	33
55 and older	47	36	38
Religious service attendance
Weekly	42	46	44
Nearly weekly/Monthly	47	35	38
Seldom/Never	42	29	29
Party ID
Republicans	56	41	42
Independents	44	32	33
Democrats	30	29	28
Annual household income
Less than $40,000	33	27	27
$40,000 to $99,999	43	31	37
$100,000 or more	57	45	41
GALLUP

At least 40% of men, weekly churchgoers, Republicans and those with an annual household income of $100,000 or more rate their mental wellbeing as excellent, while their counterparts are more negative in their self-assessments.

Americans Rate Physical Health Less Positively Than Mental Health

While COVID-19 is seemingly taking a toll on Americans' mental health, there has not been any appreciable change in ratings of their physical health. Currently, 27% of U.S. adults say their physical health is excellent, and 51% say it is good. These ratings are similar to a year ago and close to the averages for the 21-year trend. Americans' current assessment of their physical health as excellent trails their mental health rating, which has been a consistent pattern since 2001.

As has been the case in the past, young adults rate their physical health better than older adults do. Likewise, positive assessments of physical health are higher among upper-income than lower-income Americans.

	Excellent	Good	Excellent/Good
	%	%	%
Age
18 to 34	37	48	85
35 to 54	27	51	78
55 and older	19	53	72
Annual household income
Less than $40,000	21	47	68
$40,000 to $99,999	25	54	79
$100,000 or more	38	51	89
GALLUP

Bottom Line

As the pandemic wears on, Americans' rating of their mental health, which fell to a new low last year, remains below the 21-year average for the trend. Mental health ratings among women, lower-income earners and Democrats are particularly low. Americans who attend religious services weekly are notably more emotionally resilient than those who are less religious.

The pandemic does not appear to have affected Americans' views of their physical health, which remain stable and lower than their mental health ratings.

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