The structure of everyday happiness is best captured by a latent subjective well-being factor

•SWB comprises life satisfaction (LS), positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA).•4,286 French adults rated their LS, PA, and NA on at least four occasions.•Strong support for a hierarchical conceptualization with SWB as a latent factor.•Intercorrelations consistent across situational factors and individuals.•This study helps clarify the structure of SWB in everyday life.