Loneliness and Social Support Networks: Findings from the KFF Survey of Racism, Discrimination and Health 

The issues of loneliness and social isolation gained more attention during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to have relevance in the age of social media and artificial intelligence and in the context of an aging society. Loneliness and social isolation are associated with a number of poor mental and physical health conditions. For example, recent research suggests a causal relationship between loneliness and the onset of depression. Social isolation can also be linked to riskier substance use and is a risk factor for suicide and self–harm. In addition to mental health conditions, loneliness and social isolation are associated with cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.

Several efforts have been underway to increase awareness of and address loneliness and isolation through policy. In 2023, the Surgeon General issued an advisory on loneliness that includes strategies to advance social connection. Also in 2023, the National Strategy for Social Connection Act was introduced, which would increase education, awareness, and research on social connection, and create an office to advise the President and federal agencies on the impact of loneliness and how to improve social infrastructure and community engagement. Other bills propose standardizing the definition and measurements of loneliness, and addressing loneliness among elderly adults. Several state and local-level initiatives have also been taken, and in 2024, San Mateo County in California became the first county to declare loneliness as a public health emergency. A common strategy across many of these efforts involves improving social connectedness. Social connectedness can mitigate loneliness and have a protective effect on mental health. However, strategies to address loneliness are generally tailored to elderly adults and may not effectively address loneliness among young individuals – a population that has increasingly experienced loneliness over time. At a time when social development is critical, young people are spending less time in-person with their peers, have high engagement with social media, and many work or attend school remotely.

This brief examines loneliness and social support networks by age, race, ethnicity, and other factors based on data from the 2023 KFF Racism, Discrimination and Health Survey, a large, nationally representative survey based on responses from over 6,000 adults. Key takeaways include:

One in six (15%) adults report feeling always or often lonely in the past year, rising to about three in ten (31%) among young adults ages 18-29. While at least one in five young adults say they are always or often lonely, the shares are higher among young Black adults (35%) and young White adults (33%) than they are among young Hispanic (24%) or young Asian adults (22%). About one in five or more women, low-income adults, and LGBT adults also report feeling frequently lonely in the past year.

Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults are somewhat less likely than White adults to report having a robust local support network. Just over four in ten Black adults (44%) and half of Hispanic and Asian adults (50% each) say they have at least a fair amount of friends and family nearby who they can ask for help or support compared to over half (56%) of White adults.

There is a strong relationship between feelings of loneliness, local support networks, and physical and mental health and well-being. Across racial and ethnic groups, adults who say they are always or often lonely are more likely to report fair or poor physical and mental health compared to those who report less frequent loneliness. Similarly, adults who say they have many friends or family nearby who they can ask for help or support when they need it are about half as likely as those with less robust support networks to report frequent loneliness as well as poor or fair mental or physical health status.

The Prevalence of Loneliness

One in six adults (15%) say they always or often felt lonely in the past year, including larger shares of LGBT adults (33%), adults under age 30 (31%), lower income adults (23% of those with household incomes under $40,000) and Black women (22%).¹ Across racial and ethnic groups, adults ages 18-29 report loneliness at much higher rates than older adults. Overall, about three in ten(31%) adults under age 30 say they are always or often lonely, at least twice the share who report this among older age groups. While at least one in five young adults say they are always or often lonely, the shares are higher among young Black adults (35%) and young White adults (33%) than they are among young Hispanic (24%) or Asian adults (22%). Among adults of all ages, Black adults are somewhat more likely than White adults (19% vs. 14%) to report feeling frequently lonely in the past year.

Additionally, adults living in lower income households (less than $40,000 annually) are about three times as likely to report frequent loneliness as are those who live in higher income households ($90,000 or more) (23% vs. 7%). This difference is largely driven by higher rates of loneliness among low-income White and Black adults compared to their counterparts with higher incomes. Conversely, reports of feeling always or often lonely are similar across income among Asian and Hispanic adults.

There are also differences by gender and LGBT identity when it comes to loneliness. Overall, women (18%) are more likely than men (13%) to say they have felt always or often lonely in the past year. Across women, Black women (22%) are more likely to report loneliness than are White (17%), Hispanic (16%), or Asian (15%) women. Across racial and ethnic groups, LGBT adults are about twice as likely as non-LGBT adults to say they felt always or often lonely in the past year. For more on LGBT adults’ experiences with discrimination and health care disparities, see KFF’s previous report.

Social Support Networks

Most adults say they are at least somewhat satisfied with the number of meaningful connections they have with other people. While few adults (14%) say they are dissatisfied with their connections, similar to patterns of loneliness, shares are higher among lower income adults (17%), adults with fair or poor physical health (22%), adults younger than 30 (19%), and LGBT (19%) adults.

Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults are somewhat less likely than White adults to report having a robust local support network. Overall, about half (53%) of adults say they have a lot or a fair amount of friends and family members living nearby who they can ask for help or support, while the other half (47%) say they have just a few or no friends or family in their nearby support network. Black (44%), Hispanic (50%), and Asian (50%) adults are somewhat less likely than White (56%) adults to say they have at least a fair amount of people in their local support network. Among Asian and Hispanic adults, support networks do not vary much by age. In contrast, among Black adults, support networks increase with age, while among White adults, they decrease with age.

Among White and Hispanic adults, those with higher household incomes are more likely to say they have more local support than those with lower household incomes. However, racial differences in support networks are also evident among adults with higher incomes, as Black adults with household incomes of $90,000 or more annually (47%) are less likely White (66%) adults at that income level to say they have a strong social support network.

Among Black, Hispanic, and White adults, living in a racially concordant neighborhood (one where people say at least half or more of the people living there share their racial/ethnic background) is not associated with having a stronger local support network.

Loneliness, Social Support Networks, and Mental and Physical Health are Strongly Associated

There is a strong association between feelings of loneliness and self-reported mental and physical health status. Across racial and ethnic groups, adults who say they are always or often lonely are more likely to report fair or poor physical and mental health compared to those who report less frequent loneliness. About half (54%) of adults who say they are frequently lonely report fair or poor mental health status compared to about one in ten (11%) who say they are not often lonely. Similarly, adults who say they are frequently lonely are about twice as likely to report fair or poor physical health compared to those who are less frequently lonely (33% vs. 17%), a pattern that holds across racial and ethnic groups.

Adults who say they have a limited local support network are about twice as likely as those with stronger support networks to report frequent feelings of loneliness as well as fair or poor mental and physical health. Adults who say they have just a few or no close friends or family nearby who they can ask for help or support are more likely than those with at least a fair amount of support nearby to report feeling always or often lonely in the past year (21% vs. 10%). About one in four adults (24%) with just a few or no family or friends nearby report fair or poor mental health compared to about one in ten (11%) adults with a fair amount or a lot of local support, a pattern that persists across racial and ethnic groups. A similar pattern exists when it comes to physical health status.