Financial Strain Tops List of Factors Affecting Urban Indians’ Well-Being: Survey

From the Editor’s Desk

June 3, 2026

In a new survey, financial pressure has emerged as the biggest source of stress and anxiety among urban Indians, while adults aged 25 to 34 report lower overall well-being than people in their 50s despite being generally healthier, more connected to health information, more likely to use fitness apps and more exposed to modern health culture.

The survey, titled “India Health Quotient 2026,” was commissioned by ManipalCigna Health Insurance and conducted by YouGov India among 2,600 urban residents across 16 cities. It asked participants to assess their well-being across five dimensions, physical health, mental health, financial health, occupational well-being and social relationships, based on how they felt about these areas of their lives and how well they believed they were meeting their own expectations.

The resulting national score was 65 out of 100. The survey categorised this as a ‘good’ level of well-being, suggesting that urban Indians generally feel they are managing the different aspects of their lives reasonably well. However, the score also indicates considerable room for improvement, particularly in areas where financial pressure, stress and work demands affect overall quality of life.

The survey’s lowest score was financial well-being, at 62 out of 100, lower than physical health, mental health, occupational well-being and social relationships. Respondents repeatedly identified money-related concerns as affecting other parts of life. Forty one percent said pursuing financial goals creates stress and anxiety. Thirty six percent said spending money on healthy food, supplements and preventive care strains their finances. Forty percent said stress and anxiety reduce their physical health. Another 40 percent said time spent with family and friends comes at the expense of work or academic progress.

Physical health received the highest score, 68 out of 100, suggesting that people generally feel positive about how they eat, exercise and care for their bodies. However, financial well-being received the lowest score, and the survey repeatedly found that financial pressures affect stress, mental well-being, family responsibilities and people’s ability to invest in their own health.

Further, adults aged 25 to 34 recorded the lowest overall well-being score of any age group in the survey. They scored 63 out of 100, compared with 66 among those aged 35 to 49 and 65 among those over 50. The finding suggests that younger urban Indians feel less satisfied with their overall well-being than older adults, despite being at an age often associated with better physical health.

Twenty percent of respondents aged 25 to 34 reported unmanageable stress, compared with eight percent among those over 50. More than half of young adults placed mental health above physical health in importance. More than half also identified managing stress from external pressures as one of their leading mental health concerns.

Stress is one of the report’s central themes. Eighty two percent of respondents said they experience stress. Fourteen percent characterised their stress as unmanageable. At the same time, only one percent rated their overall health as poor.

Among respondents who reported stress, 63 percent said it left them feeling less motivated. Fifty eight percent said they became more emotional or irritable, while 46 percent experienced sleep problems or physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach issues. Forty four percent reported difficulty concentrating, and 40 percent said stress reduced their productivity.

Among adults aged 25 to 34, mental health moved ahead of physical health. Fifty four percent of this age group considered mental health the higher priority. However, the survey also identified a gap between awareness and action.

Seeking help for mental health concerns ranked at the bottom of the mental health behaviours measured. Only 40 percent of respondents included seeking help among their leading mental health priorities. Women were more likely than men to seek help, and younger adults were more likely than older adults to do so.

The physical health findings were relatively positive. Sixty seven percent rated themselves highly on maintaining a balanced diet. Sixty four percent rated themselves highly on regular physical activity. Sixty percent felt they were getting quality sleep.

However, preventive care received much less attention. Only 46 percent considered preventive health checkups among their leading physical health priorities, while just 36 percent prioritised using nutritional supplements or support when needed. This suggests that many urban Indians remain more focused on maintaining day-to-day health than on identifying future health problems before symptoms appear.

In occupational well-being, maintaining a healthy work-life balance emerged as the biggest concern. Respondents also placed high value on future career prospects and remaining interested in their work. However, confidence in job stability was much lower, and concerns about workload, burnout and economic uncertainty surfaced repeatedly in the survey.

Employees also expressed clear preferences regarding workplace health benefits. In addition to higher hospitalisation coverage, many wanted wellness programmes, nutrition counselling, mental health support and preventive health checkups.

Social well-being scored 66 out of 100, making it the second highest dimension after physical health. Most respondents reported supportive relationships and healthy personal boundaries. However, social health was also the area that people felt least urgency to improve. The survey found that people often take social relationships for granted, even though these relationships contribute significantly to overall well-being.

In smaller cities, respondents reported higher levels of well-being than those living in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Respondents in the six biggest metros recorded an overall score of 63, compared with 67 in other cities, including Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Kochi, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Patna and Bhubaneswar. Higher scores were recorded in physical health, mental health, financial health and occupational well-being.

The report suggests that people’s sense of well-being is influenced as much by financial security, mental health, work conditions and family responsibilities as by their physical health.

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