Based on a cross-disciplinary theoretical framework, this study investigates the relation­ships between multiple components of socioeconomic status (income, occupation, and ed­ucation), basic need fulfillment (autonomy, competence, relatedness, security, and respect), and subjective well-being (life satisfaction and emotional well-being). Using high-quality Swedish survey data, we applied Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling. To address potential mood bias, we measured socioeconomic status, need ful­fillment, and subjective well-being at different time points, reflecting the theorized sequen­tial order of these constructs. Empirically, household income stood out as the strongest socioeconomic predictor of both need fulfillment and subjective well-being. However, higher occupational status was also positively associated with multiple types of need ful­fillment and with greater subjective well-being. Educational level, by comparison, was linked only to greater fulfillment of competence in multivariate analyses. All five needs were positively associated with subjective well-being in bivariate analyses; however, only the fulfillment of autonomy and security remained significant predictors and mediators of the relationship between socioeconomic status and subjective well-being in structural equation models. The findings underscore the substantial influence of income, the addi­tional benefits of occupational status, and the importance of autonomy and security needs in understanding subjective well-being and its socioeconomic gradient.