Quality of life for Americans aged 65 and over increased over the past decade, according to new research from Shatakshee Dhongde in Georgia Tech’s School of Economics.
Dhongde measured the quality of life among older Americans using a multidimensional well-being index she pioneered. For this study, Dhongde weighed four factors: income, housing costs, disabilities, and digital access.
“Disadvantages tend to overlap, and their cumulative effects can be more severe than experiencing each one on its own,” Dhongde said. “By weighing them together, policymakers can identify people experiencing clusters of disadvantages and provide more targeted interventions.”
Which groups of older Americans have seen the most gains in well-being?
Dhongde’s paper, published in The Review of Income and Wealth in May 2026, finds:
- Well-being increased overall: The percentage of older Americans with the highest well-being index increased over the past decade, going from 16% in 2014 to 22% in 2023.
- Well-being is higher among Asians and white people: Among older Americans, the well-being index is higher among Asians and white people and lower among Black people, American Indians, and Hispanics.
- Racial gaps narrowed: The average well-being index increased by nearly 10% among Black and American Indian older adults between 2014 and 2023, compared with roughly 5% among White and Asian older adults.
- Older Americans still experienced the lowest quality of life: Despite gains over the past decade, adults 65 and older still had lower well-being scores than any other adult age group.
What is driving the gains in well-being among older Americans?
- Internet connectivity is the biggest catalyst: The percentage of older adults with digital access rose from 67% in 2014 to 92% in 2023.
- Income also increased: The percentage of older Americans classified as upper class (earning more than 500% of the poverty threshold) rose from 27% to 31%.
- Disabilities decreased: 68% of older Americans reported no disabilities, up from 64% at the beginning of the study period.
- Some measures worsened slightly: The number of older Americans living below the poverty threshold increased from 9% to 11%, while those facing a severe housing burden rose from 13% to 14%.
- Most gains occurred before 2019: Well-being among older Americans improved from 2014 to 2019, but remained largely unchanged from 2019 to 2023 — likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dhongde notes that the choice of well-being indicators was limited because of data limitations in the American Community Survey. The study also couldn’t track the benefits seniors who own their homes outright receive, and it doesn’t include residents of group homes.
Still, this research is important because 55 million Americans are aged 65 and over, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, and this group is growing five times faster than the total population. Yet, it has the lowest well-being index overall. So policies to improve the well-being of older Americans can have a wide-reaching impact. Dhongde’s research provides a benchmark for measuring improvements and helping policymakers pinpoint the most effective interventions.
“The number of older Americans in the U.S. is growing rapidly, but there is little research into their quality of life,” Dhongde said. “This work finds that well-being indicators are not highly correlated, so measuring just one, such as income, does not give us a full picture. As the well-being of older Americans increases, the goal is to help continue that momentum.”
“Multidimensional Well-Being Among Older Adults in the United States” was published in The Review of Income and Health in June 2026. Read more at: https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.70081
Shatakshee Dhognde is a professor in Georgia Tech's School of Economics, where her research focuses on measures of poverty, inequality, and deprivation.
