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As Americans navigate a new era of uncertainty, the CivicScience Well-Being Index offers a window into the current state of consumer emotional health—an important factor often linked to spending behavior. Following a sharp decline in well-being at the start of the year and a brief mid-February rebound, the weekly average now sits at 53.36. That marks a modest drop of 0.59 points from last week and a more notable 2.39-point decrease from this time last year (55.75). Overall, the data reflects a clear downward trajectory in emotional well-being over the past year, with heightened volatility in the fall and a weekly decline throughout early 2025.
Use our Data: CivicScience clients use data like this for a real-time view of their consumers’ emotional well-being, which is often predictive of their intended spending.
The long-term view reveals that emotional well-being has not fully rebounded to its pre-pandemic lockdown levels in early 2020. After an initial recovery in 2021, the index showed month-over-month volatility through early 2022 and before stabilizing in 2023. However, a renewed downward trend emerged in late 2024 that carried into early 2025, suggesting a potential return of emotional stressors impacting the general population.
As of April 7, the monthly well-being of the nation stands at 54.16, which is up slightly from last month, but still below levels seen throughout 2024.
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A closer look at the index’s individual components reveals that happiness and stress remain key drivers of overall well-being. Compared to last month, Americans reported increases in both positive and negative emotions—except for sadness, which saw a slight decline. Notably, when compared to this time last year, all positive emotions have declined, while negative emotions have increased, further underscoring the toll that current economic conditions are taking on emotional well-being.
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Overall, the CivicScience Well-Being Index reveals a troubling decline in America’s emotional health in 2025, with the current monthly reading of 54.16 showing slight improvement from March but remaining below last year’s levels. This persistent downward trend, marked by decreasing positive emotions and rising negative ones, may signal broader economic implications as emotional well-being correlates with consumer spending behaviors.
