Income and education show distinct links to health and happiness in daily life

David B. Newman (), Amie M. Gordon and Wendy Berry Mendes
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David B. Newman: Loma Linda University
Amie M. Gordon: University of Michigan
Wendy Berry Mendes: Yale University

Nature Human Behaviour, 2025, vol. 9, issue 11, 2299-2312

Abstract: Abstract With growing levels of inequality, understanding relationships between socioeconomic status (SES), health and well-being is as important as ever. Many studies focus on associations between an SES composite and either health ‘or’ happiness; here we examine unique relationships between SES indicators (income and education) and health ‘and’ well-being outcomes at both individual and community levels, drawing on a sample of adults (N = 71,385; Mage = 40.62, s.d. = 13.20) from more than 10 countries and representing 13,089 unique ZIP codes within the United States. A subset (N = 29,567) participated in an Ecological Momentary Assessment study by providing daily reports of their emotions, blood pressure and heart rate (Nobs = 329,543) for 3 weeks. Generally, higher levels of education were more consistently linked to indicators of better health, whereas higher levels of income were associated with higher levels of well-being. Individual-level SES predicted health and well-being more strongly than community-level factors.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-025-02264-9

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