Most demographic variables like age, income, occupation, education, sex, marital status, show only small relationship to happiness. One major exception to this general pattern involves the effect of marriage on SWB. About 90% of us eventually marry and the vast majority of us will be happier as a result (Myers 2000). An extensive literature documents the relationship between marriage and higher levels of subjective wellbeing. When we say married people are more happy, but happier than whom? Higher than people who never married or who are divorced, separated or widowed. The marriage happiness relationship has consistently been demonstrated in large scale surveys
of Americans and Europeans. A meta-analytic review of 100 studies found marriage to be strong predictor of life satisfaction, happiness and overall well-being. One national survey of 35,000 people in the United Ştates found that the percentage of married adults who said they were very happy was 40%, it was nearly double than of those who never married (26%). Even When researchers control for the possible confoundingeffects of other variables such as income, age there isstill a significant relationship between marriage andwell-being, compared to other domains of life suchas job status and health. Being married and having afamily repeatedly show the strongest connections tolife satisfaction and happiness.