Social support is not distributed evenly. In July–December 2020, 77.5% of U.S. adults said they always or usually received the social and emotional support they needed, while about 1 in 10 said they rarely or never did. Later measurements show continuing gaps in adult support, youth connection, loneliness, and mental health. These social support statistics describe those differences without treating association as proof of cause.
Contents
- U.S. adult support levels
- Differences by age, income, and household context
- Loneliness and missing support
- Youth support and school connectedness
- Global connection gaps
- Measured links with well-being
U.S. adult support levels
The CDC’s national estimate for U.S. adults aged 18 and older provides a useful baseline. In the CDC report Perceived Social and Emotional Support Among Adults: United States, July–December 2020, 52.4% of adults always received the social and emotional support they needed. Another 25.1% usually received it. Together, those groups represent 77.5% who always or usually received needed support during that period.
The remaining responses show why an overall average does not tell the whole story. In the same July–December 2020 measurement:
- 12.2% of adults sometimes received the support they needed.
- 4.3% rarely received it.
- 6.0% never received it.
The rarely and never categories total about 1 in 10 U.S. adults. This is a measure of perceived access to needed social and emotional support, not a count of friendships or household size.
A later CDC community-connection summary reports that 82% of U.S. adults felt they received the social and emotional support they needed in 2021. The same summary reports that 12% of U.S. adults had difficulty participating in social activities because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition in 2024. These figures come from different measurement periods and should not be treated as a single continuous trend. See CDC Community & Connection.
Differences by age, income, and household context
The 2020 CDC report shows that perceived support varied across demographic and household groups. Always-or-usually received needed support was reported by 80.0% of adults aged 18–34, 75.9% of adults aged 35–49, 74.4% of adults aged 50–64, and 79.5% of adults aged 65 and older. The lowest percentage in this age comparison was among adults aged 50–64.
Race and ethnicity differences were also present. Always-or-usually received needed support was reported by 81.2% of non-Hispanic White adults, compared with 70.9% of Hispanic adults, 71.6% of non-Hispanic Black adults, and 71.3% of non-Hispanic Asian adults. The report uses the categories shown here, and the figures describe reported support during July–December 2020.
The sex difference was small in this measure: 77.6% of women and 77.5% of men reported always or usually receiving needed support. Household and relationship context showed larger gaps.
| Group measured in July–December 2020 | Always or usually received needed support |
|---|---|
| Married adults | 81.5% |
| Adults living with a partner | 80.1% |
| Neither married nor living with a partner | 71.6% |
| Two or more adults, no children in household | 81.0% |
| Single-adult household, no children | 67.6% |
Income and education were associated with further differences in reported support. The percentage rose from 63.2% among adults below 100% of the federal poverty level to 85.0% among adults at 400% or more of that level. It rose from 67.6% among adults without a high school diploma or GED to 83.1% among adults with a college degree or higher.
Disability status also mattered in the CDC comparison: 78.6% of adults without disability versus 65.5% of adults with disability reported always or usually receiving needed support. These statistics identify differences between groups; they do not by themselves explain why those differences occurred.
Loneliness and missing support
The CDC’s 2022 analysis of 26 U.S. states measured loneliness and a lack of social and emotional support separately. Among adults in those states, 32.1% reported loneliness and 24.1% reported a lack of social and emotional support.
Some groups reported notably higher levels. Loneliness affected 43.3% of adults aged 18–34, while 29.7% of that age group reported a lack of social and emotional support. Among adults with less than a high school education, 41.1% reported loneliness and 36.3% reported a lack of support. Among adults who had never married, the corresponding figures were 45.9% and 34.7%.
Household income was also related to the measures. Among adults with household income below $25,000, 47.9% reported loneliness and 39.8% reported a lack of social and emotional support. In the same 26-state analysis, loneliness was reported by 33.5% of women and 30.7% of men.
These percentages use the CDC study’s definitions and sample. They should not be read as a national estimate for every U.S. adult, because the analysis covered adults in 26 states.
Youth support and school connectedness
Youth measures show a different support picture from the adult estimates. In the CDC’s latest youth support summary, 58.1% of U.S. youth felt they received the social and emotional support they needed during July 2021–December 2023. The period spans multiple years, so it is not directly interchangeable with the adult July–December 2020 estimate. Source: CDC Community & Connection.
School connectedness is another related but distinct measure. In 2021, 61.5% of U.S. high school students reported feeling connected to others at school, according to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey analysis. The reported percentages varied across groups:
- 65.5% of male students reported school connectedness, compared with 57.6% of female students.
- 66.7% of Asian students reported school connectedness.
- 63.3% of students in 9th or 10th grade reported school connectedness.
- 65.1% of heterosexual students reported school connectedness.
- 53.9% of American Indian or Alaska Native students and 53.9% of Black students reported school connectedness.
- 48.3% of students with questioning or other sexual identities reported school connectedness.
School connectedness is not the same as receiving all needed social and emotional support. It is a school-based indicator that helps show how young people experience belonging in an important daily setting.
Global connection gaps
The WHO Commission’s 2025 report, summarized in “Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death”, estimated that 1 in 6 people worldwide was affected by loneliness. The estimate used available evidence reviewed by the Commission, rather than one single global survey conducted at one time.
WHO reported several differences by age and country income level. Between 17% and 21% of people aged 13–29 reported feeling lonely in the evidence reviewed. About 24% of people in low-income countries reported feeling lonely, compared with about 11% in high-income countries. WHO also estimated that social isolation affects up to 1 in 3 older adults and 1 in 4 adolescents.
The report connected loneliness with an estimated 100 deaths every hour worldwide, or more than 871,000 deaths annually. Those are report estimates and should not be interpreted as a direct count of deaths caused by loneliness for a particular year.
WHO’s evidence review also found that teenagers who felt lonely were 22% more likely to receive lower grades or qualifications. This is an observed relationship in the reviewed evidence, not proof that loneliness alone caused lower academic results.
Measured links with well-being
The 2022 CDC 26-state analysis found strong adjusted associations between loneliness, missing support, and mental health indicators. Adults reporting loneliness had 3.61 times the adjusted prevalence of stress compared with adults not reporting loneliness. They also had 3.05 times the adjusted prevalence of frequent mental distress and 2.38 times the adjusted prevalence of a history of depression.
Adults reporting a lack of social and emotional support had 3.0 times the adjusted prevalence of stress compared with adults not reporting that lack. The adjusted prevalence was 2.6 times as high for frequent mental distress and 1.8 times as high for a history of depression. “Adjusted” means the analysis accounted for the factors specified by the study; these ratios still do not establish causation.
The school-based results point in the same direction. Among U.S. high school students in 2021, poor mental health was reported by 22.0% of students who felt connected at school, compared with 40.1% of students who did not feel connected. The comparison describes two groups and does not show that school connectedness alone produced the difference. Source: CDC School Connectedness and Risk Behaviors and Experiences.
Living arrangements also appeared alongside differences in reported depression. In 2021, feelings of depression were reported by 6.4% of U.S. adults living alone and 4.1% of adults living with others. Among adults who rarely or never received needed social and emotional support, feelings of depression were reported by 19.6% of those living alone versus 11.6% of those living with others. These figures come from the National Center for Health Statistics report Feelings of Depression Among Adults: United States, 2021. Living alone is not the same as lacking support, and living with others is not a guarantee of emotional connection.