Back to Health

More Americans pick 90 or older as the right age to die

Source reportMethodology

Topline

Considering both quality and quantity of life, 44.6% of U.S. adults put the ideal age to die at 90 or older, more than any other answer. The next most common choice is 85 to 89, at 23.1%.

Preferences skew long across the board: 17.9% say 80 to 84, 7.6% say 75 to 79, 3.6% say 70 to 74 and just 3.1% say under 70.

Topline

44.6% of adults say the ideal age to die is 90 or older; 23.1% say 85 to 89.

Considering both quality and quantity of life, what do you think would be the ideal age to die?

  • 90 or older 44.6%
  • 85-89 23.1%
  • 80-84 17.9%
  • 75-79 7.6%
  • 70-74 3.6%
  • Under 70 3.1%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.1%

Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052

View source data

90 or older leads every other answer

44.6% of adults choose 90 or older as the ideal age to die, nearly double the 23.1% who choose 85 to 89.

Fewer choose each younger band: 17.9% say 80 to 84, 7.6% say 75 to 79, 3.6% say 70 to 74 and 3.1% say under 70.

Who picks 90 or older

Black adults (56.4%) and adults 65 and older (50.3%) are the most likely to name 90 or older, compared with 42.2% of White adults and 36.3% of adults under 30.

By region, 50.9% in the Northeast pick 90 or older, versus 34.3% in the Midwest.

Topline

35.8% call leaving a legacy beyond family very or extremely important (20.4% very plus 15.4% extremely).

Excluding any children or other family you might have, how important is it to you that you leave a legacy for people to remember you by after you die?

  • Somewhat important 28.6%
  • Not too important 21.0%
  • Very important 20.4%
  • Extremely important 15.4%
  • Not at all important 14.5%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.1%

Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052

View source data

Legacy matters, but deep investment is a minority view

64.4% of adults say leaving a legacy beyond their family is at least somewhat important, the sum of 28.6% somewhat, 20.4% very and 15.4% extremely important. Only 35.8% (20.4% very plus 15.4% extremely) call it very or extremely important.

21.0% say a legacy is not too important and 14.5% not at all important. The racial divide is wide: 33.2% of Black adults call a legacy extremely important, versus 11.2% of White adults.

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Population
US adults age 18+
Field dates
2026-05-21 → 2026-05-26
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.1%
Module
Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052
Sponsor
Verasight
Weight variable
weight
Weighting targets
age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

Sources

[2]

Citation

Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052, fielded May 21-26, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.1%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/aapor-2026#q-27

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.