Most Americans rate 2025 a big ‘meh’

How was your year? 2025 was only a five out of 10 for most, according to new research.

A poll of 2,000 Americans examining last year asked respondents to score how the year was for them personally out of 10 and saw 5.3 was the average vote cast.

In what was, overall, a year of “meh” given the overall rating, a quarter of people (25%) voted 2025 a poor 12 months, with scores of one, two or three out of 10.

A fifth (21%) rated it a very good year personally, marking it an eight, nine or 10.

Conducted by Talker Research, Gen X was the generation voting the lowest for the year (5.1 on average), while millennials rated it slightly higher at 5.3.

And while all generations voted a score of 5 overall, it was Gen Z and boomers seeing the year most positively, both ranking it a 5.4/10 on average.

The results confirm that 2025 was worse than 2024, which was ranked 6.1 out of 10 overall in Talker Research’s past snapshot.

And while the year may not have been one for the books overall for most, the majority of Americans did feel they grew as a person in 2025.

In fact, seven in 10 (69%) felt they developed in the last 12 months in some way, with improvements to personal life (59%) and development in their mental and emotional life (49%) the most common growth categories.

And that personal enhancement continued, with many also counting spiritual growth (45%) and intellectual growth (33%) among their achievements for 2025.

James Robbins, co-founder and editor in chief of Employer Branding News, says that sometimes growth is more present than we think:  “Many individuals measure a year based upon tangible indicators (i.e., promotions, salary increases, job title changes). When these do not occur, they often believe that they did not grow or succeed. The truth is, for many in 2025, there was no time for professional development; there were only survival years, not years focused on growth.

“The fact remains that holding ground during times of mass layoffs, heavier workloads, and/or uncertain expectations is a skill in and of itself; however, we simply do not assign the term ‘growth’ to it.”

Perhaps naturally, younger generations were more confident in reporting their growth, with the sentiment declining with age. Seventy-five percent of Gen Z said they grew as a person in some way in 2025, versus 59 percent of baby boomers.

Gen Z were most likely to say they’ve developed both emotionally and intellectually, and also felt they expanded socially better than any other generation in 2025.

Boomers were most likely to feel they’d developed spiritually in 2025, while they were also most confident in saying they’ve enhanced their physical health and fitness.

Millennials were the most likely generation to say they’ve developed professionally, while also creatively and artistically.

Robbins continued: “The way our workplace cultures function also reinforces our tendency to be overly critical of ourselves because we equate visibility (e.g., being promoted) with non-visibility (e.g., developing stronger boundaries, improving one's decision-making processes), which can lead us to feel that we have made little to no personal or professional progress.

“There is an incredible tendency for us to be too harsh with ourselves when we equate stabilization with stagnation. Simply put, sometimes not disintegrating is the actual process of growth.”

HOW AMERICA SCORED 2025 (OUT OF 10 — WITH 10 BEING INCREDIBLE)

• 1 - 9%
• 2- 6%
• 3- 10%
• 4- 11%
• 5- 20%
• 6- 11%
• 7- 12%
• 8 - 11%
• 9 - 4%
• 10- 6%

AVERAGE = 5.3 /10

HOW AMERICA SCORED 2024 (OUT OF 10 — WITH 10 BEING INCREDIBLE)

• 1 - 5%
• 2 - 4%
• 3 - 6%
• 4 - 8%
• 5 - 17%
• 6 - 13%
• 7 - 17%
• 8 - 16%
• 9 - 6%
• 10 - 8%

AVERAGE = 6.1 / 10

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans. The survey was administered and conducted online by Talker Research between December 5th and December 10th, 2025.

To view the complete methodology as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, please visit the Talker Research Process and Methodology page.