Loneliness statistics describe a gap between the relationships people have and the connection they want. Social isolation describes limited contact, while living alone describes a household arrangement. Someone can experience any combination of these. Their different definitions explain much of the variation between surveys, and they matter when interpreting health risks.
Last full review: September 13, 2026 · sourced from national surveys, WHO, the U.S. Surgeon General, Census data, and peer-reviewed research.
Ten numbers that define loneliness in 2026
30% of U.S. adults reported loneliness at least weekly over the previous year in a national poll conducted in 2024. American Psychiatric Association, 2024
20% of U.S. adults felt lonely for much of the previous day in Gallup’s August 27 to September 4, 2024, survey of 6,289 adults. Gallup, 2024
15.8% is WHO’s modeled global loneliness estimate for people aged 13 and older during 2014 to 2023, about one in six. WHO Commission on Social Connection, 2025
871,000 deaths annually are attributed to loneliness in WHO’s model for people aged 13 and older during 2014 to 2019. WHO, 2025
67% of U.S. Gen Z adults, born from 1997 to 2006, were classified as lonely in Cigna’s 2024 online adult survey, published in 2025. The Cigna Group, 2025
33.4% of community-dwelling U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 lacked companionship some of the time or often in 2024. Malani et al., JAMA, 2024
1.306 was the pooled hazard ratio for dementia associated with loneliness in a 2024 meta-analysis. Luchetti et al., Nature Mental Health, 2024
81% of U.S. adults classified as frequently or almost always lonely reported anxiety or depression in Harvard’s weighted May 2024 YouGov survey. Harvard Making Caring Common, 2024
38.5 million U.S. households consisted of one person in 2024, a housing measure that does not establish loneliness. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024
25% of U.S. men aged 15 to 34 reported daily loneliness in Gallup's combined 2023 and 2024 World Poll data. Gallup, 2025
How common loneliness is
U.S. surveys consistently find that loneliness is common, but they count different experiences. Some ask about the previous day, others ask how often people felt disconnected over a year. Multi-question scales can identify people who seldom use the word lonely to describe themselves. The estimates need those definitions alongside them.
U.S. adults experienced loneliness at least weekly
The American Psychiatric Association's poll of 2,200 U.S. adults, fielded January 10 to January 12, 2024, asked adults about loneliness during the previous year. Its weekly estimate captures recurring feelings across that period; it does not mean every respondent felt lonely on the interview date. The same poll found daily loneliness in 10% of adults. A person can have occasional lonely evenings, a recurring weekly difficulty, or persistent distress, and those experiences enter different survey categories. APA here means the American Psychiatric Association, which commissioned the Healthy Minds Monthly poll.
| 20% | U.S. daily loneliness, late summer 2024 Gallup surveyed 6,289 U.S. adults aged 18 and older through its probability-based panel from August 27 to September 4, 2024, asking whether they felt lonely for much of the previous day. |
| 16% | U.S. loneliness or isolation all or most of the time Pew's September 2024 survey used a frequency question, capturing a more persistent pattern than a measure that includes occasional loneliness. |
| 21% | U.S. loneliness in Harvard's May 2024 survey Harvard’s weighted YouGov survey of 1,500 U.S. adults, conducted May 6 to May 14, 2024, counted feeling lonely frequently or almost all the time during the past 30 days. |
| 15.8% | WHO global loneliness estimate for people aged 13 and older The Commission’s 2025 report models prevalence during 2014 to 2023, with a 95% uncertainty interval of 12.8% to 20.1%; children under 13 were outside the estimate. |
| 23% | Daily loneliness among people aged 15 and older across 142 countries and areas, 2023 Gallup’s 2023 World Poll asked approximately 1,000 people per country or area about loneliness for much of the previous day; country samples and interview modes varied. |
| 61% | U.S. loneliness in Cigna's 2019 research Cigna’s online survey of 10,441 U.S. adults aged 18 and older, fielded July 16 to August 2, 2019, classified UCLA Loneliness Scale scores of 43 or higher as lonely. |
Global estimates by population and measure
| Population and observation period | Estimate | Interpretation and source |
|---|---|---|
| Young adults aged 19 to 29, Meta-Gallup across 142 countries and areas, 2022 to 2023 | 27% | Very or fairly lonely; a young-adult subgroup. Maese, E., 2023 |
| Adults aged 65 and older, Meta-Gallup across 142 countries and areas, 2022 to 2023 | 17% | Same question within the older subgroup. Maese, E., 2023 |
| Low-income countries, WHO, 2014 to 2023 evidence | 24.3% | A country-income category, rather than a household-income category. World Health Organization, 2025 |
| High-income countries, WHO, 2014 to 2023 evidence | 11% | Rounded in WHO's public summary. World Health Organization, 2025 |
Why the surveys give different answers
A scale can ask about feeling left out, lacking companionship, or feeling disconnected without asking someone to adopt a label. A single question is easier to repeat across countries, but its wording and recall period carry more weight. Population coverage matters as well: a survey of employees excludes people outside employment, and a household poll may miss people living in institutions. These design choices mean that the highest and lowest percentages cannot be placed into a chronological sequence and called a change in national prevalence. Cigna's scale methodology and Meta-Gallup's international methods illustrate those differences.
Loneliness also differs from a diagnosis. Survey responses describe an experience, and a population percentage cannot determine whether a particular person has depression, social anxiety, or another condition. Psychology.com's loneliness questionnaire offers a separate way to reflect on feelings of connection; its results should be understood alongside personal circumstances rather than used as a population estimate.
Who is loneliest
Young adults often report more loneliness than older adults, although the pattern depends on the survey. Income, relationship circumstances, and health also matter. Broad age averages can conceal people facing bereavement, disability, financial strain, or a move away from familiar networks. Comparisons are clearest when groups answer the same question.
U.S. Gen Z adults classified as lonely in Cigna’s 2024 survey
Cigna's Loneliness in America 2025 report draws on the 2024 Vitality study and defines its adult Gen Z group by birth years 1997 to 2006. The result describes adults reached by that survey, so it should not be extended to every child or teenager in the generation. The Vitality study surveyed more than 5,000 U.S. adults aged 18 and older online from May 29 to June 14, 2024, with population weighting. Its loneliness classification differs from the brief frequency questions used by some other organizations; the percentages are not directly comparable. Even so, the within-survey age gradient is clear.
| 65% | U.S. Millennials classified as lonely, Cigna 2024 data Respondents born from 1981 to 1996 had a rate close to the Gen Z group, suggesting that disconnection extended well beyond the youngest adults. These are adult subgroups of Cigna’s weighted online survey conducted May 29 to June 14, 2024. |
| 60% | U.S. Gen X adults classified as lonely, Cigna 2024 data The estimate for respondents born from 1965 to 1980 shows that a high prevalence also appeared in the middle of adult life. These are adult subgroups of Cigna’s weighted online survey conducted May 29 to June 14, 2024. |
| 44% | U.S. Baby Boomers classified as lonely, Cigna 2024 data U.S. respondents born from 1946 to 1964 had the lowest generational estimate. These are adult subgroups of Cigna’s weighted online survey conducted May 29 to June 14, 2024. |
| 27% | Daily loneliness among U.S. adults in households earning under $24,000 This subgroup comes from Gallup’s February 21 to February 28, 2023, probability-panel survey of 5,167 U.S. adults aged 18 and older; it describes respondents rather than entire households. |
| 30% | Adults aged 18 to 34 lonely daily or several times weekly APA's 2024 poll placed frequent loneliness in a substantial young-adult minority, using a narrower age band than Cigna's combined generational comparisons. |
| 33.4% | Community-dwelling U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 lacking companionship in 2024 Michigan counted feeling this way sometimes or often during the previous year, covering occasional as well as more frequent disconnection. |
Age comparisons within the same survey
| Survey and population | Loneliness estimate | What the comparison means |
|---|---|---|
| Pew, U.S. adults younger than 50, 2024 | 22% | Lonely or isolated all or most of the time. Goddard, I., & Parker, K., 2025 |
| Pew, U.S. adults aged 50 and older, 2024 | 9% | The same question among older adults. Goddard, I., & Parker, K., 2025 |
| WHO adolescents aged 13 to 17 worldwide, 2014 to 2023 evidence | 21% | Rounded in WHO's 2025 summary. World Health Organization, 2025 |
Age groups and generations answer different questions
Age describes a stage of life; a generation groups people by birth period. A survey taken at one point cannot separate the effects of growing older from the effects of growing up under different conditions. Cigna's generational results therefore do not show that today's young adults will necessarily become less lonely as they age. The comparison is also sensitive to who participates and how loneliness is defined. The oldest groups in household surveys may exclude people in nursing homes or people unable to complete an interview. Cigna methodology; Michigan study limitations.
Country income and household income describe different comparisons. A person with a low income in a wealthy country belongs to a different category from a resident of a low-income country. The figures establish group differences without assigning a single cause.
Health effects
Loneliness and limited social connection are associated with mortality, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline. Most evidence follows people over time rather than assigning them to social conditions. The findings are important population signals, with uncertainty about how much reflects social disconnection itself and how much reflects other health and life circumstances.
Pooled mortality association with loneliness in a 2023 review
Wang and colleagues combined prospective cohort evidence in adults aged 18 and older and reported a pooled all-cause mortality effect estimate of 1.14 for loneliness (95% confidence interval, 1.08 to 1.20). It is a relative comparison with people who were not lonely, rather than the proportion of lonely people who died. The estimate also differs from the frequently quoted 2015 result because the studies and pooling methods differ. These reviews support concern about social disconnection without providing a fixed personal prognosis.
| 1.26 | Mortality odds ratio associated with loneliness Holt-Lunstad's 2015 review, searching studies from 1980 through 2014, found higher adjusted mortality odds among lonely participants, the source of the familiar 26% comparison. |
| 1.29 | Mortality odds ratio associated with social isolation The same 2015 review found higher odds with objectively limited social connection, which it analyzed separately from the feeling of loneliness. |
| 1.32 | Mortality odds ratio associated with living alone The 2015 review also examined household status, but this association cannot establish that a particular person living alone feels lonely or faces that exact risk. |
| 29% | Higher relative risk of coronary heart disease Valtorta's 2016 review of longitudinal evidence published through May 2015 linked poor social relationships with incident coronary heart disease. The included longitudinal studies were set in high-income countries. |
| 32% | Higher relative risk of stroke The same 2016 analysis found an association with stroke, while leaving open whether interventions to improve connection would reduce cardiovascular events. The included longitudinal studies were set in high-income countries. |
| 1.306 | Dementia hazard ratio associated with loneliness Luchetti's 2024 meta-analysis found a higher rate of dementia over follow-up, with variation between studies in both loneliness measurement and dementia assessment. |
Additional health associations in evidence reviews
| Outcome and source year | Effect estimate | Interpretation and source |
|---|---|---|
| Alzheimer disease, 2024 | HR 1.393 | A relative hazard associated with loneliness. Luchetti, M., et al., 2024 |
| Vascular dementia, 2024 | HR 1.735 | A separate dementia subtype estimate. Luchetti, M., et al., 2024 |
| Cognitive impairment, 2024 | HR 1.150 | A broader cognitive outcome than dementia. Luchetti, M., et al., 2024 |
| Stronger social relationships, 2010 review | 50% higher survival odds | A positive social-relationship comparison. Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B., 2010 |
| Perceived social support, 2020 NASEM synthesis | 35% higher survival odds | A measure-specific estimate from the 2010 evidence. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2020 |
The comparison with smoking
Drawing on a 2017 synthesis by Holt-Lunstad, Robles, and Sbarra, the Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory compares the mortality impact of lacking social connection with smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. This compares population-level mortality estimates across different exposures. It does not provide a biological dose conversion. A lonely day does not create the same exposure as smoking a specified number of cigarettes. The wording also concerns social disconnection broadly, which includes more than subjective loneliness. Surgeon General advisory, 2023.
WHO estimates that loneliness accounted for 871,000 deaths annually worldwide among people aged 13 and older during 2014 to 2019. This is a modeled attributable burden: it combines evidence about exposure and mortality to estimate deaths associated with loneliness at population scale. WHO combines loneliness prevalence estimates for 2014 to 2023 with mortality data for 2014 to 2019. This mismatch in time periods is one limitation; the deaths are not counts from death certificates listing loneliness. Health, poverty, disability, and relationship loss can interact, so an estimate of attributable deaths depends on the assumptions used to distinguish those influences. WHO Commission report, 2025.
Loneliness and mental health
Loneliness often accompanies anxiety, depression, and a reduced sense of purpose. A survey can document that overlap without showing which experience began first. The relationship may run in both directions: distress can make connection harder, while unsatisfying relationships can deepen distress. Supportive-contact trials provide a different kind of evidence about whether change is possible.
Frequently lonely U.S. adults reported anxiety or depression in Harvard’s May 2024 survey
Harvard Making Caring Common’s weighted YouGov survey of 1,500 U.S. adults, fielded May 6 to May 14, 2024, found this overlap among those lonely frequently or almost all the time in the prior 30 days. Anxiety and depression were measured with the GAD-2 and PHQ-2 screening questionnaires. The 81% describes this lonely subgroup; it is not a diagnosis rate among all U.S. adults. Screening responses cannot establish that loneliness caused an anxiety or depressive disorder. The finding suggests that a conversation about connection may sit alongside concerns about mood, worry, and everyday life.
| About 75% | Lonely adults reported little or no meaning or purpose Harvard’s May 2024 U.S. survey finding captures a broader concern about daily life and direction, extending beyond the number of people someone sees. The denominator is respondents lonely frequently or almost all the time in the prior 30 days. |
| 67% | Lonely adults did not feel part of meaningful groups Harvard’s May 2024 U.S. survey result points to group belonging as a distinct aspect of connection. The denominator is respondents lonely frequently or almost all the time in the prior 30 days. |
| 61% | Lonely adults reported insufficient close friends or family This May 2024 U.S. survey response concerns the adequacy of close relationships, which can differ from the size of a contact list. The denominator is respondents lonely frequently or almost all the time in the prior 30 days. |
| 65% | Lonely adults felt fundamentally disconnected from others or the world The May 2024 U.S. survey survey described this as existential loneliness, a broader feeling than being physically alone. The denominator is respondents lonely frequently or almost all the time in the prior 30 days. |
| 63% | Lonely adults felt their place in the world lacked importance or relevance Harvard’s May 2024 U.S. survey result links loneliness with a sense of personal significance. The denominator is respondents lonely frequently or almost all the time in the prior 30 days. |
| 43% | Lonely respondents aged 15 and older also reported anger for much of the previous day Gallup’s 2023 World Poll across 142 countries and areas found this overlap among respondents lonely for much of the previous day; it cannot establish a causal sequence. |
What a randomized telephone study found
In a trial conducted in 2020 and published in 2021, Meals on Wheels clients in Texas were assigned to an empathy-focused calling program or a control group. After four weeks, the intervention group showed a 1.1-point improvement over control on the short UCLA Loneliness Scale. A different loneliness measure, the De Jong scale, showed a 0.32-point improvement, with uncertainty that included no difference. The mixed results across measures matter: the trial supports a short-term benefit on one loneliness scale, while leaving questions about durability and transfer to other populations. Kahlon et al., 2021.
The trial is evidence about a defined program delivered to a particular group during a particular period. It does not establish that every phone call, app, group activity, or digital service reduces loneliness. Outcomes also differ: a program might improve how connected someone feels without changing how many people they know. Psychology.com's social anxiety questionnaire addresses a related but distinct experience, fear or discomfort in social situations, which can coexist with loneliness.
Friendship, work and living alone
A household, a marriage, a workplace, and a friendship network describe different forms of social connection. They can overlap, but none guarantees satisfying relationships. The statistics show where contact happens and where loneliness is reported, while leaving room for people who enjoy solitude or feel disconnected in a busy household.
U.S. households consisted of one person in 2024
Census counts households with a single resident, providing a concrete measure of living arrangements. A household count is different from the share of all adults who live alone, since larger households contain more people. It also says nothing directly about the resident's friendships, contact with family, or satisfaction with solitude. Living alone can accompany independence, bereavement, separation, or many other circumstances.
| 29% | Share of U.S. households with one person in 2024 The Census estimate is a housing statistic and should not be interpreted as the percentage of Americans who are lonely. |
| 54% | Adults with close friends who met one through a workplace The May 2021 American Perspectives Survey included a respondent's own or their spouse's workplace, highlighting the role of routine shared settings. |
| 12% | Adults reporting no close friends in May 2021 This Survey Center estimate describes friendship networks during the pandemic, rather than all possible sources of emotional support. |
| 46% | Adults who made a new friend during the previous year The same 2021 survey found new connections alongside reports of disruption, showing that friendship networks continued to change during the pandemic. |
| 39% | Single adults reporting loneliness at least weekly APA's 2024 poll found a higher frequency among single adults, although relationship status alone cannot explain the difference. |
| 22% | Married adults reporting loneliness at least weekly The same poll confirms that loneliness also occurs within marriage, where the quality of connection can differ between households. |
Daily loneliness by work location, global employees in 2025
What remote-work comparisons can establish
The Gallup results show an association between work location and reported daily loneliness. They do not isolate the effect of changing a worker's location while holding the rest of life constant. Remote work may preserve access to a job, reduce a difficult commute, or change opportunities for informal conversation. A comparison between existing groups cannot determine which of these mechanisms matters most. Loneliness was reported across every work arrangement shown, so the work-location category is only part of the picture. Gallup methodology, 2026.
Perceived support adds another perspective. AIBM’s analysis of the February 2025 U.S. Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey reported that 68% of men and 69% of women said they always or usually felt socially and emotionally supported. Those near-equal totals can coexist with differences in whom people approach for support. AIBM, 2025. Psychology.com's friendship questionnaire offers a separate reflection on relationship quality, which a simple friend count leaves largely unmeasured.
Trends 2018 to 2026
The period contains a pre-pandemic baseline, sharp disruption, partial recovery, and newer international reporting. It does not contain a single continuous loneliness series shared by all organizations. A 2026 publication may describe interviews from 2025, and comparisons across separate studies require more care than comparisons within a stable survey.
U.S. daily loneliness in February 2023
Gallup’s probability-panel web survey of 5,167 U.S. adults aged 18 and older, conducted February 21 to February 28, 2023, found that daily loneliness had fallen from its pandemic highs by February 2023. The later increase shown below means that recovery was uneven. Gallup explicitly notes that this U.S. loneliness series has no pre-pandemic measurement, so it cannot directly establish whether the post-pandemic level returned to a 2019 baseline.
| 25% | U.S. pandemic high, most recently recorded in March 2021 Gallup’s national adult panel series identifies this as a pandemic high point, using the same prior-day loneliness question as later readings. The latest of three 25% readings was March 2021. |
| 20% | U.S. daily loneliness in late summer 2024 Gallup’s August 27 to September 4, 2024, web survey of 6,289 U.S. adults aged 18 and older found a rate above February 2023 and below the pandemic high. |
| 61% | Cigna loneliness classification in 2019 Cigna’s July 16 to August 2, 2019, online survey of 10,441 U.S. adults aged 18 and older classified UCLA Loneliness Scale scores of 43 or higher as lonely; this result predates pandemic restrictions. |
| 33.9% | Community-dwelling U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 lacking companionship in 2018 Michigan's earlier observation supplies a pre-pandemic comparison for that specific age group and question. |
| 41.4% | Community-dwelling U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 lacking companionship in 2020 The early-pandemic survey asked about a shorter recall period, which limits a direct comparison with the other years. |
| 37.2% | Community-dwelling U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 lacking companionship in 2023 This estimate remained above the 2018 observation, before reaching 33.4% in the 2024 survey. |
Time alone, felt isolation, and employee loneliness
| Series and observation year | Estimate | What was measured |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. time-use analysis, 2019 | 309 minutes/day | Average time alone, summarized in the 2023 advisory. Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 2023 |
| U.S. time-use analysis, 2020 | 333 minutes/day | An increase in time alone, without directly measuring distress. Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 2023 |
| Michigan poll of community-dwelling U.S. adults aged 50 to 80, 2020 | 55.7% | Felt isolated sometimes or often, using the pandemic recall period. Malani, P. N., et al., 2024 |
| Michigan poll of community-dwelling U.S. adults aged 50 to 80, 2024 | 29.2% | Felt isolated sometimes or often over the past year. Malani, P. N., et al., 2024 |
| Global employees aged 15 and older, 2023 | 20% | Lonely for much of the previous day. Gallup, 2026 |
| Global employees aged 15 and older, 2024 | 22% | Lonely for much of the previous day. Gallup, 2026 |
| Global employees aged 15 and older, 2025 | 22% | Lonely for much of the previous day, published in the 2026 report. Gallup, 2026 |
What the 2026 endpoint means
The latest workplace figures here were collected in 2025. They provide an endpoint for a report published in 2026, without implying a measured change during 2026 itself. Michigan used separate samples across years, changed survey panels, and shortened its 2020 recall period. Its results therefore describe repeated population snapshots rather than tracking the same individuals throughout recovery. The authors did not formally test differences between survey years. Gallup, 2026; Malani et al., 2024.
Men and young adults
Evidence about men's loneliness changes with age, question wording, and the kind of support being measured. Some surveys find a marked disadvantage among young U.S. men; others find similar overall loneliness among men and women. Friendship counts, emotional support, and feelings of belonging help explain why these findings can coexist.
Young U.S. men reported daily loneliness in Gallup's World Poll
Across the combined 2023 and 2024 data, U.S. men aged 15 to 34 reported loneliness for much of the previous day at a higher rate than young U.S. women or the median for young men across OECD countries. The U.S. results come from random telephone samples of approximately 1,000 residents aged 15 and older per year, with the percentages here calculated for the subgroup aged 15 to 34. This age band includes adolescents as well as adults. It cannot establish that men of every age are lonelier than women across every measure.
| 18% | U.S. women aged 15 to 34 reporting daily loneliness Gallup's combined 2023 and 2024 result uses the same age band and question as its young-men estimate. |
| 15% | OECD median for daily loneliness among men aged 15 to 34 This is the median country estimate in Gallup's 2023 and 2024 analysis, rather than a population-weighted average across all OECD residents. |
| 9% | U.S. men reporting no close friends in Pew’s 2023 data Pew supplied this additional analysis to AIBM for its 2025 report. The two estimates come from different surveys, so the comparison with the May 2021 American Perspectives Survey does not establish a decline in friendlessness. |
| 8% | U.S. women reporting no close friends in Pew’s 2023 data The near-equal result concerns friendship counts, which cannot fully describe the support available within those friendships. |
| 15% | U.S. men reporting no close friends in the May 2021 American Perspectives Survey AIBM's historical summary cites the American Perspectives Survey; this pandemic-era result should retain its original year. |
| 61% | U.S. adults aged 18 to 25 reporting serious loneliness in October 2020 This subgroup came from Harvard’s preliminary weighted Mechanical Turk convenience sample of 935 U.S. adults. Serious loneliness meant feeling lonely frequently or almost all the time in the prior four weeks; the estimate has limited generalizability. |
Cigna U.S. adult generational estimates in 2023 and 2024
| Generation | 2023 / 2024 | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Gen Z adults: born 1997 to 2005 in 2023; 1997 to 2006 in 2024 | 71% / 67% | The Cigna Group, 2023; The Cigna Group & Evernorth Research Institute, 2025 |
| U.S. Millennials, born 1981 to 1996 | 65% / 65% | The Cigna Group, 2023; The Cigna Group & Evernorth Research Institute, 2025 |
| U.S. Gen X, born 1965 to 1980 | 59% / 60% | The Cigna Group, 2023; The Cigna Group & Evernorth Research Institute, 2025 |
| U.S. Baby Boomers, born 1946 to 1964 | 44% / 44% | The Cigna Group, 2023; The Cigna Group & Evernorth Research Institute, 2025 |
Friendship history and survey limits
In the 1990 comparison cited by the Survey Center, 3% of adults reported no close friends. The older survey used telephone interviews while the 2021 survey used an online panel, so mode effects may contribute to the difference. Harvard’s weighted convenience sample of 935 U.S. adults in October 2020 found 36% reporting loneliness frequently or almost all the time in the prior four weeks, but explicitly described its findings as preliminary. Its recruitment through Mechanical Turk makes it a different kind of evidence from a probability-based national panel. Cox, 2021; Harvard, 2021.
Pew's September 2024 survey found that 54% of women and 38% of men would be very or extremely likely to approach a friend for emotional support. That is a difference in intended help-seeking, even where overall loneliness looks similar. Pew, 2025. Psychology.com's men's issues resources provide related context on relationships and emotional well-being. Cigna’s 2023 and 2024 studies used weighted online samples of U.S. adults aged 18 and older. The Gen Z birth-year range expands in 2024 as more members reach adulthood, so the table describes changing adult samples. These figures do not demonstrate statistically significant year-to-year changes.
Common questions
How common is loneliness in the United States?
Which age group is loneliest?
Are men lonelier than women?
Does living alone mean someone is lonely?
Is loneliness as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day?
How is loneliness related to depression and suicide risk?
How we compiled this
Cite this source
Fontane Pennock, S. (2026, September 13). Loneliness Statistics 2026. Psychology.com. https://psychology.com/loneliness-statistics/
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