Report · Culture

Americans often weigh relationships and work goals equally

Reading

Neither love nor work wins out for the largest group of Americans: 37% say having or maintaining a romantic relationship matters just as much as their work or education goals, according to a May 2026 Verasight survey.

More lean toward the relationship than away from it: 35% of adults say it is more important than those goals, including 16% who say it is much more important, while 28% say it is less important, including 10% who say it is much less important.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Americans often weigh relationships and work goals equally.

Compared to work or education goals, how important is the goal of having or maintaining a romantic relationship in your life?

  • Equally important 37.3%
  • More important 18.7%
  • Less important 17.1%
  • Much more important 16.5%
  • Much less important 10.4%

2026 · base n 474 · +/- 4.8%

identity

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-05-11 → 2026-05-11
Base (unweighted)
474
Margin of error
+/- 4.8%
Module
identity

Source

Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=474 US adults age 18+, +/- 4.8%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.