A new poll is shining light on the top New Year’s resolutions for Americans heading into 2026. Is yours the same?
A survey from YouGov, released last week, revealed that 31% of U.S. adults will come up with a resolution or set a goal heading into the new year. Among those surveyed, the most common resolution was to exercise more, with 25% saying it remains a top priority.
Being happy came in a close second at 23%, followed by eating healthier (22%), saving more money (21%) and improving physical health (21%).
The poll noted that respondents under the age of 45 are more likely to resolve to save more money (30%), pursue a career goal (17%), improve their mental health (24%) and learn something new (23%). Women are also more likely than men to look to lose weight (21% to 13%) and to be happy (26% to 20%).
Americans, overall, appear more optimistic that they will follow through on their resolution throughout the year, according to the poll.
Thirty-nine percent of respondents who plan on deciding on a resolution say it is very likely they will uphold it, while 50% think it is somewhat likely. Just 5% believe it is not very likely and only 2% said it is not at all likely.
More generally, 32% of U.S. adults believe that adopting a resolution will help better themselves, the poll found. While 10% said it will make the upcoming year worse, 42% think having a goal doesn’t have an impact.
Here are some other resolutions that were included in the poll:
- Losing weight: 17%
- Improving mental health: 16%
- Learning something new: 15%
- Spending more time with family: 15%
- Praying more: 15%
- Reading more: 15%
- Improving relationships with friends or family: 13%
- Paying down debts: 12%
- Improving home or life organization: 12%
- Traveling: 11%
- Quitting a bad habit: 11%
- Spending more time with friends: 9%
- Focusing on spiritual matters: 9%
- Pursuing a career goal: 9%
- Pursuing a new hobby: 8%
- Getting a new job: 8%
- Moving: 6%
- Volunteer more: 6%
- Showing up on time more often: 4%
- Getting more involved politically: 4%
When responses are divided by political party, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say it was a great year for them personally and for the country. Meanwhile, Democrats are more likely to believe 2026 will be a terrible year for the United States.
The poll showed that 49% of Americans think the next year will be a good or great year for them, while 31% think it will be a good or great year for the country. Twenty-seven percent of respondents argued that 2026 will be one of the worst years in American history.
The YouGov poll was conducted from Dec. 9-11 among 1,104 U.S. adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
