Somewhere, Thomas Jefferson is smiling: “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is still the coin of the realm.

Overall, Americans are definitely satisfied with the life they lead.
Almost all (94%) say they are satisfied, with over half of U.S. adults (56%) saying they are very satisfied with the life they lead and 38 percent somewhat satisfied. Just six percent are not satisfied with the life they lead. This level of satisfaction is up slightly from earlier this decade: in 2005, nine out of ten were satisfied and in 2003, 91 percent were satisfied with the life they led.

While this overall satisfaction with life is across all age groups, there is a generational difference with the level of satisfaction. Echo Boomers (those aged 18-30) are evenly split with 48 percent saying they are very satisfied and 47 percent who are somewhat satisfied. Matures (those aged 62 and older), on the other hand, are clearly of a different mind as over two-thirds (69%) are very satisfied while just one-quarter (24%) are somewhat satisfied with the life they are leading.