Life News
Only three in 10 Americans make a 2026 resolution, and exercise beats saving money
Fewer than a third of Americans planned a New Year's resolution for 2026. A YouGov poll of 1,104 US adults, conducted on 9–11 December, found about three in 10 intended to make one or set a goal. Newsweek reported that people under 45 were far more likely to do so (43%) than those over 45 (21%).
Straight Arrow News said 31% planned a resolution, the same share as in 2025, and that the top goals had shifted back towards health: exercising more (25%), eating healthier (22%), improving physical health (21%) and losing weight (17%). Saving more money, the most popular resolution in 2025, fell to fourth at 21%. Among under-30s, 34% resolved to be happy and 24% to improve their mental health. Of those making resolutions, 39% said they were highly likely to keep them.
On 3 January CBS Baltimore reported a separate University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) poll of more than 800 adults: 72% of Marylanders had not made a resolution, and 22% said they would.
“To read for pleasure, to block off time and steady the mind, quiet the heart.” — Peter Kannam, Baltimore resident, via CBS Baltimore
How each outlet framed it
- Newsweek — the generation gap, plus how Americans rated 2025 for themselves (38% good or great) and for the country (24%).
- Straight Arrow News — the return of health goals and the sharp fall in money resolutions among young adults, from 47% to 29%.
- CBS Baltimore — a local poll and street interviews, set against gloomier views of the year ahead.
Where the numbers differ: The national figure of about 31% and Maryland's 22% come from different polls with different questions and dates, so they cannot be compared directly. Both national reports rely on the same YouGov survey.