Well-being transcends the complex and often competing sustainability dimensions. As such, a population's well-being serves as a bellwether for sustainable development and is an important consideration of development progress. Since the 2015 launch of the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), well-being-focused research has expanded significantly. Sustainable Development is among the few journals consistently contributing to this field. A timely overview of maturing well-being-SDG research progresses this contribution, warranting a systematic quantitative literature review (SQLR). The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach. Applying predefined exclusion–inclusion criteria, 50 relevant well-being development goal-focused articles were reviewed. A detailed analysis revealed the current state of knowledge, key research themes, methods, trends, and leading contributors. The synthesis of prior studies also identified research gaps and future directions to better support the sustainable development agenda. Finally, the review underscores the central role of promoting long-term sustainability and human well-being.