Job Satisfaction Statistics (2026)

Sixty-nine percent of US workers say they are satisfied with their job, the highest reading in the 39 years The Conference Board has asked the question and the sixteenth consecutive annual rise from a 42.6% low in 2010. On a stricter scale, Pew Research Center finds 51% extremely or very satisfied and 12% not satisfied. Both are right about what they measure, and the gap between them is the first thing this page explains.

The pages that rank for this question quote Gallup's engagement rate as a satisfaction rate, credit The Conference Board's record high to Gallup, and compare Pew's 51% against The Conference Board's 69% as if one were a fall. This page uses The Conference Board's 2023 to 2026 releases, Pew's 2023 and 2024 surveys, Gallup's aspect-level data, and the Judge meta-analysis on satisfaction and performance, with the sample and date next to every figure.

How satisfied are US workers, and the trend

The Conference Board's job satisfaction survey, drawn from its Consumer Confidence Survey each January, is the longest-running series. Its 2026 release put overall satisfaction at 68.9%, up from 68.3% in 2025 and 62.7% in 2023. The 2025 reading was a 5.7-point jump, the largest in the series' history, with gains on 26 of 27 job elements. The 2025 wave surveyed 1,700 employed workers; the 2026 sample was not stated in the release.

One oddity is that satisfaction with the job overall runs well ahead of satisfaction with its parts: the average across the 27 individual elements in 2026 was 59%. People rate the whole above the sum of the components. The Conference Board's 2025 driver analysis found interest in the work, quality of leadership, workplace culture, workload and supervisor relationships had more influence on overall satisfaction than wages, bonuses or benefits.

Why 69% and 51% are both right

Pew Research Center's February 2023 survey of 5,188 US workers used a five-point scale and found 51% extremely or very satisfied, 37% somewhat satisfied and 12% not too or not at all satisfied. Its October 2024 survey of 5,273 workers found 53% of non-blue-collar workers highly satisfied. The Conference Board's question asks whether you are satisfied, which captures Pew's top two boxes plus most of the "somewhat" group. Add Pew's 51% and 37% and you get 88%, which is higher than The Conference Board's 69% because the instruments and panels differ. The point is that the two should never be placed on one trend line, and that "half of workers are highly satisfied, two thirds are satisfied, one in eight is not" is the honest summary.

Engagement is a different measure again. Gallup's 31% engaged figure is about involvement and enthusiasm, not satisfaction, and it is widely quoted as "only 31% of workers are satisfied." Our employee engagement statistics page keeps the two apart.

Which parts of the job score highest and lowest

Gallup's Work and Education poll is the longest aspect-level series, though its latest published topline is from August 2020, from 529 employed adults. The share completely satisfied with each aspect:

The ordering is stable across instruments and decades. Co-workers and supervisors score highest; pay, promotion and stress score lowest. Gallup's long series shows complete satisfaction with on-the-job stress rising from 24% in 1993 to 35% in 2020, and with money earned from 23% in 1999 to 39%. The Conference Board's 2026 data add that men were more satisfied than women on 26 of 27 elements, with the largest gaps on wages (7.2 points), health plans (7.0) and retirement benefits (6.3). Women scored higher only on work-life balance.

Pay and benefits

Pay is where satisfaction is weakest. In Pew's 2023 survey, 34% were extremely or very satisfied with their pay: 39% of men and 30% of women, 37% of White workers and 28% to 29% of Black, Hispanic and Asian workers. Satisfaction with benefits was 49%. Among workers dissatisfied with pay in Pew's 2024 survey, 80% to 82% said pay was not keeping up with the cost of living and 67% to 77% said it was too low for the work. Pew also found health insurance ranked the single most important benefit by 43% of workers, paid time off by 29% and a retirement plan by 13%.

The Conference Board's driver analysis is the counterweight: compensation elements influenced overall satisfaction less than culture and leadership in 2025. Pay satisfaction is low and important, but it does not predict overall satisfaction as well as the quality of the work and the boss. Our employee recognition statistics page covers the non-pay side of that.

By age, income, gender and work arrangement

Satisfaction rises with age and income in every survey. The Conference Board's 2025 data put workers under 25 at 57.4% satisfied against 72.4% for those 55 and over, with under-25s the only group whose satisfaction fell and the least satisfied group every year since 2022. Pew's 2023 figures for extremely or very satisfied run from 44% at ages 18 to 29 to 67% at 65 and over. By household income, The Conference Board's 2026 release ranges from 45.3% under $25,000 to 76% at $150,000 and above; Pew's 2023 figures run 45% for lower-income to 57% for upper-income workers. Our Gen Z workplace statistics page covers the youngest group.

On gender, the sequence matters. Women trailed men for six consecutive years through 2023, edged ahead overall in 2025 while trailing on 21 of 27 elements, and trailed again on 26 of 27 in 2026. On work arrangement, The Conference Board's November 2023 wave found hybrid workers most satisfied at 65.5%, fully remote at 64.1% and fully on-site at 60.2%, and its 2025 analysis found hybrid predicted higher satisfaction in every age group, though workers aged 18 to 24 were more satisfied with two or three on-site days than with four or more remote days. Our return to office statistics page has the arrangement data in full.

Blue-collar workers

Pew's October 2024 survey included 1,004 blue-collar workers, defined as manual or physical labor in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, retail, hospitality or transportation, about 27% of the workforce. Forty-three percent were extremely or very satisfied against 53% of other workers, and 15% against 10% were dissatisfied. Fifty-four percent described their work as "just a job to get by" against 27% of other workers, rising to 61% among blue-collar women and 65% among those under 30. Only 31% thought most Americans respect their work. The one aspect where blue-collar workers matched or beat others was the commute, at 59% satisfied against 57%.

Satisfaction, performance and leaving

The relationship between satisfaction and performance is real and moderate. Judge, Thoresen, Bono and Patton's 2001 meta-analysis of 312 samples and 54,417 people in Psychological Bulletin found a true-score correlation of 0.30. Satisfaction explains some of performance, not most of it, and the direction runs both ways.

On leaving, Gallup's fourth-quarter 2025 data from 22,368 US workers found 51% actively looking or watching for openings. Among job seekers, 44% cited dissatisfaction with their current job and 56% simply wanted something better; pay and benefits was the top reason in both groups. About 30% of workers said they felt stuck, and 43% said they stayed mainly because leaving was too difficult or costly. The Conference Board found satisfaction lowest at six months to three years of tenure, at 58.2%, rising to 63.6% past the three-year mark, and that almost half of workers planning to leave within six months had under three years' service. Pew's data add that workers who get frequent feedback from their manager are 84% satisfied with that relationship against 36% of those who rarely get any. Our employee turnover statistics page covers the quits data.

Figures to stop using

• "Only 31% of workers are satisfied." That is Gallup's engagement rate. Satisfaction is 69% by The Conference Board's measure or 51% highly satisfied by Pew's.
• "Gallup reports record-high satisfaction of 69%." The Conference Board does, in its June 2026 release.
• "Job satisfaction hit a record 62.3%." That was 2022. It has since risen to 68.3% and 68.9%.
• "Satisfaction fell from 69% to 51%." Two different scales from two different surveys.
• "Women are less satisfied than men." True in most years, reversed overall in 2025, and true again on 26 of 27 elements in 2026.
• Country rankings from Randstad's Workmonitor labeled 2026 are from the fourth quarter of 2019.

Key takeaways

• 68.9% of US workers were satisfied with their job in January 2026, the highest in 39 years and the sixteenth consecutive annual rise from 42.6% in 2010.
• On Pew's stricter five-point scale, 51% are extremely or very satisfied, 37% somewhat and 12% not satisfied. The two measures should not be compared.
• Co-workers and supervisors score highest in every survey. Pay, promotion and stress score lowest: 34% are highly satisfied with pay and 33% with promotion opportunities.
• Satisfaction rises with age and income: 57.4% under 25 against 72.4% at 55 and over; 45.3% in households under $25,000 against 76% at $150,000 and above.
• Men were more satisfied than women on 26 of 27 job elements in 2026, with the largest gaps on wages, health plans and retirement benefits.
• Hybrid workers were most satisfied at 65.5%, fully remote 64.1% and fully on-site 60.2% in The Conference Board's data.
• 43% of blue-collar workers are highly satisfied against 53% of others, and 54% call their work 'just a job to get by' against 27%.
• Satisfaction correlates with job performance at 0.30 across 312 samples. 51% of US workers are looking or watching for a new job, and 44% of seekers cite dissatisfaction.