Stress is measured in several different ways, including self-rated intensity, perceived stressors, emotional support needs and related feelings such as worry or anxiety. The figures below distinguish U.S. survey results from a 131-country estimate and make the population and measurement period explicit.
Key Stress Statistics
These are the central findings across the available U.S., global and work-status measures:
- In 2023, U.S. adults aged 18 and older rated their average stress 5.0 out of 10.
- In 2023, 24% of U.S. adults rated their average stress between 8 and 10.
- Among U.S. adults aged 18 and older, the share rating average stress 8–10 was 19% in 2019 and 24% in 2023.
- In 2023, adults aged 18–34 in the United States averaged 6.0 out of 10 for stress.
- In 2023, adults aged 65 and older averaged 3.4 out of 10 for stress in the United States.
- In 2023, 68% of U.S. adults named the nation’s future a significant stressor.
- In 2023, 65% of U.S. adults identified health-related issues as a significant day-to-day stress category.
- In 2023, 63% of U.S. adults identified money as a significant day-to-day stress category.
- In 2023, 27% of U.S. women rated stress 8–10, compared with 21% of men.
- In 2023, 50% of U.S. adults aged 18–34 reported a diagnosed mental health condition.
- In 2023, 79% of U.S. parents of children under 18 identified money as a significant stressor.
- In 2023, 66% of U.S. adults said they could have used more emotional support than they received in the previous 12 months.
- In 2023, 47% of U.S. adults wished they had someone to help manage their stress.
- In the peer-reviewed Gallup World Poll analysis published in 2025, 35.1% of respondents across 131 countries reported experiencing stress.
- In the 2017 U.S. National Health Interview Survey, 32.1% of adults aged 18–44 looking for work reported feeling worried, nervous or anxious daily or weekly.
Contents
- Key Stress Statistics
- Overall Stress Levels and High-Stress Trends
- Stress Statistics by Age, Gender and Life Stage
- Money, Health and Daily-Life Stress Data
- Stress Statistics on Support, Coping and Future Outlook
- Global Stress Prevalence and Socioeconomic Differences
- Work-Status and Age Patterns in Related Emotional Distress
Overall Stress Levels and High-Stress Trends
The American Psychological Association’s Stress in America 2023 survey covered 3,185 U.S. adults aged 18 and older online from August 4–26, 2023. APA describes the sample as nationally representative and reports a ±2.5 percentage-point 95% Bayesian credible interval; these are self-reported perceptions and ratings, not clinical diagnoses.
The national average was 5.0 out of 10, while the high-stress group was substantial:
- 24% of U.S. adults rated their average stress between 8 and 10 in 2023, compared with 19% in 2019.
- Adults aged 18–34 averaged 6.0 out of 10 in 2023, and adults aged 35–44 averaged 5.7.
- Adults aged 45–64 averaged 5.0, while adults aged 65 and older averaged 3.4.
Among adults aged 35–44, the average score increased from 5.2 in 2019 to 5.7 in 2023. Among adults aged 65 and older, it decreased from 3.6 in 2019 to 3.4 in 2023.
APA also measured broad perceived stressors in 2023:
| Significant stressor | U.S. adults aged 18+ |
|---|---|
| Nation’s future | 68% |
| Violence and crime | 61% |
| U.S. debt | 57% |
| Mass shootings | 56% |
| Social divisiveness | 55% |
| Health care | 54% |
These percentages describe perceived significant stressors, and multiple responses were allowed, so they do not sum to 100%. Stress in America 2023: A nation recovering from collective trauma provides the survey findings and methodology.
Stress Statistics by Age, Gender and Life Stage
Age and gender comparisons show different reported levels, while related mental-health and chronic-illness figures provide context without establishing that stress caused those outcomes.
| U.S. subgroup, 2023 | Average stress or related measure |
|---|---|
| Adults aged 18–34 | 6.0 out of 10 |
| Adults aged 35–44 | 5.7 out of 10 |
| Adults aged 45–64 | 5.0 out of 10 |
| Adults aged 65+ | 3.4 out of 10 |
| Women | 5.3 out of 10 |
| Men | 4.8 out of 10 |
Women also reported higher high-stress ratings: 27% rated stress 8–10, compared with 21% of men. In the previous 12 months, 68% of women said they could have used more emotional support than received, compared with 63% of men.
The APA survey reported these diagnosed mental-health figures in 2023:
- 50% of adults aged 18–34 reported a diagnosed mental health condition.
- 45% of adults aged 35–44 reported one.
- 36% of adults aged 45–64 reported one.
- 37% of U.S. adults overall reported a diagnosed mental health condition.
These are self-reported diagnoses and are not equivalent to stress-disorder prevalence. Chronic illness was reported by 58% of adults aged 35–44 in 2023, up from 48% in 2019, and by 73% of adults aged 45–64 in 2023, compared with 68% in 2019; the survey does not establish causation.
Among parents of children under 18, chronic illness was reported by 63% in 2023 versus 56% in 2019. The figures retain their subgroup definitions and should not be generalized to all adults.
Money, Health and Daily-Life Stress Data
Health, money and the economy were among the leading day-to-day stress categories for U.S. adults in 2023:
- 65% identified health-related issues as a significant day-to-day stress category, while 63% identified money.
- 64% identified the economy as a significant day-to-day stress category.
- Among adults aged 18–34, money and health-related issues were each significant stressors for 82%, mental health was significant for 72%, and housing costs were significant for 70%.
- Among adults aged 35–44, money was significant for 77% and the economy for 74%.
- Among adults aged 45–64, money and the economy were each significant for 63%.
- Among adults aged 65 and older, the economy was significant for 47% and health-related issues for 45%.
The money-related results also differed by gender and life stage. Among adults who cited money as a significant stressor, 66% of women said paying for essentials was stressful, compared with 55% of men, and 60% of women said unexpected expenses were stressful, compared with 49% of men.
Women reported feeling consumed by worries about money at 50%, compared with 44% of men. Among parents of children under 18, money was a significant stressor for 79% in 2023, compared with 71% in 2019.
Parents also reported family responsibilities as a significant stressor for 77% in 2023 versus 71% in 2019. The economy was significant for 75% of parents in 2023, compared with 56% in 2019.
Stress Statistics on Support, Coping and Future Outlook
The 2023 APA results show that stress management is connected with perceived social support and difficulty planning ahead. These are self-reported experiences rather than measures of treatment use or clinical effectiveness.
- 62% of U.S. adults said they did not talk about their stress because they did not want to burden others.
- 61% said people around them expected them to get over their stress.
- 47% wished they had someone to help manage their stress.
- 36% said they did not know where to start when managing stress.
- 33% felt completely stressed out no matter what they did to manage it.
- 66% said they could have used more emotional support than they received in the previous 12 months.
- 26% said they needed a lot more emotional support than they received.
- 44% did not feel anyone understood what they were going through.
- 52% wished they had someone to turn to for advice or support.
Future planning was also affected for some respondents. In the past month, 28% reported difficulty planning for the future because of stress, and 33% said day-to-day stress was too high for them to think about the future.
Coping perceptions varied by age. In 2023, 78% of adults aged 65 and older said they could get things done while stressed, compared with 71% of adults aged 18–34 and 35–44; 71% of adults aged 65 and older said they could get over stress quickly, compared with 51% of adults aged 18–34.
Among adults aged 65 and older, 74% said their problems were not bad enough to be stressed about because others had it worse. This is an attitudinal self-report and does not indicate that the group experienced no stress.
Global Stress Prevalence and Socioeconomic Differences
A peer-reviewed analysis of Gallup World Poll data from more than 300,000 people in 131 countries, published in 2025, estimated that 35.1% of respondents reported experiencing stress. This cross-country measure is an observational survey estimate, not a clinical diagnosis.
The study reported a modest gender difference and an income-group comparison:
| Measure | Reported estimate |
|---|---|
| All respondents, 131 countries | 35.1% |
| Females | 36.1% |
| Males | 33.6% |
| High-income countries | 36% |
| High-income versus low-/middle-income difference | 2.3 percentage points |
Income instability, health issues and food insecurity were each statistically significant correlates of stress at p<.01. Because the regression analysis is observational, statistical significance does not establish that any of these factors caused stress.
The study’s country-income grouping and reported survey measure should not be treated as interchangeable with the APA’s U.S. stress rating scale. Global evidence on the prevalence of and risk factors associated with stress reports the Gallup World Poll analysis and its scope.
Work-Status and Age Patterns in Related Emotional Distress
CDC’s 2017 National Health Interview Survey measured how often adults felt worried, nervous or anxious, counting daily or weekly responses. This is related emotional-distress information, not an interchangeable definition of psychological stress and not a clinical diagnosis.
| U.S. population, 2017 | Felt worried, nervous or anxious daily or weekly |
|---|---|
| Working adults aged 18–44 | 22.4% |
| Adults aged 18–44 looking for work | 32.1% |
| Working adults aged 45–64 | 17.3% |
| Adults aged 45–64 looking for work | 30.4% |
| Working adults aged 65+ | 14.3% |
| Adults aged 65+ looking for work | 47.2% |
Within each age group shown, the reported percentage was higher among adults looking for work than among those currently working. The 65-and-older job-seeking estimate may be less precise because it represents a subgroup estimate.
QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Who Felt Worried, Nervous, or Anxious Daily or Weekly, by Age Group and Employment Status — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2017 defines the measure and reports the age and employment-status estimates.