Loneliness Test (UCLA-3)
Loneliness is not the same as being alone — it is the gap between the connection you have and the connection you want. This is the 3-question short form of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the version large national health surveys use. Three questions, one score from 3 to 9.
For each statement, pick how often you have felt that way recently. There are only three questions — answer with the first response that feels true.
Your answers never leave this browser — scoring happens on your device.
How the UCLA-3 works
The full UCLA Loneliness Scale has 20 questions; in 2004, researchers Mary Hughes and colleagues distilled it to the three items above — lacking companionship, feeling left out, and feeling isolated — and showed the short form tracks the full scale closely. Because it takes under a minute, it became the standard loneliness measure in large population surveys such as the US Health and Retirement Study and the UK's Community Life Survey. Each answer scores 1 to 3, giving a total of 3 to 9; in survey research, scores of 6–9 are commonly grouped as “lonely” and 3–5 as “not lonely.”
Two things surprise people about loneliness scores. First, they correlate only weakly with how much time you spend with others — a crowded life can score high and a quiet one low, because the scale measures felt connection, not headcount. Second, loneliness is a signal, not a sentence: like hunger, it is your mind reporting an unmet need, and it responds to small, repeated, low-stakes contact — a standing weekly class, a volunteering shift, one person you check in with — far better than to occasional big social efforts. If loneliness arrives with persistently low mood, the PHQ-9 self-check is a sensible companion; the two often travel together, and help exists for both.
The UCLA-3 is a self-assessment of felt loneliness, not a diagnosis of any condition, and a high score is not a personal failing — population surveys routinely find a substantial minority of adults in the 'lonely' range. If loneliness comes with persistent low mood, anxiety, or thoughts of harming yourself, please talk with a professional; crisis resources are in the footer of every page on this site.
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal UCLA-3 score?
Scores run from 3 to 9. The convention used in national surveys reads 3–5 as 'not lonely' and 6–9 as 'lonely.' Depending on the country and age group, roughly 1 in 5 to 1 in 3 adults score in the lonely range — common does not make it painless, but you are far from alone in it.
Can I be lonely while surrounded by people?
Yes — this is one of the most consistent findings in loneliness research. The scale measures whether you feel understood, included, and accompanied, not how many people are physically near you. Shallow contact in abundance can score worse than one or two close relationships.
Is this the real UCLA loneliness scale?
It is the validated 3-item short form (Hughes et al., 2004) of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, reproduced in its standard published wording, and scored the standard way: Hardly ever = 1, Some of the time = 2, Often = 3, summed to 3–9.
How often should I retake it?
Monthly is a sensible rhythm — loneliness moves slowly. Your results are saved on the My Results page in this browser, so you can watch whether changes you make (a new group, a weekly ritual) actually move the number.
Are my answers private?
Yes. Scoring happens on your device, your history lives only in your browser's local storage, and nothing is uploaded to a server.
Keep going
Your results from every tool are saved only in this browser — see them together on My Results.