Here’s my contribution:
Job: Secrtetarial Jill of All Trades for the State
Significant Relationship: Married 2 years
Income: I have no clue
Social Life: Rather quiet, small circle of friends.
Health: I was all right till mid-year, then my job literally drove me batshit. I had to take most of the year on sick leave, but the falling apart made me re-evaluate how important my family and friends vs. the job.
When I was 26, it was 2000–I was a newly minted librarian, moved to a new town, bought a first house (well, only house so far), and had my first daughter. We’d been married 4 years. It was a busy year.
I turned 26 in February of 1986.
Job: College Student
Significant Relationship: Married
Income: $6,000 (I think)
Social Life: Taking care of a baby, working and going to school
Health: Great
Car: a 1977 Chevrolet that we had bought for $300
I had gotten married in December of 1984 and had a child in 1985. I was still in undergrad school so I was living the life of a poor student. I was just figuring out that marrying that guy might have been a mistake … I went on to have another child in 1988 while finishing my master’s degree. I don’t remember much about that last semester (fall 1988); my kids were six weeks old and 3 years old, and I was finishing up my thesis project.
I think the only reason I pulled it all off was because I didn’t really know that I couldn’t.
Stepping up to a “real” job after graduation was a surreal experience. I thought that my salary of $24,000/yr was a fortune. 
You seriously asked that question? 
More on topic, I am two years out, so while I feel cheated by the topic, I am definitely enjoying reading all of the (very different) replies. Some good stuff to keep in mind!
Job: Contract Researcher for a federally-funded Arctic ethnographic study.
Significant Relationship: recently entered into perhaps my first committed relationship and already having misgivings. Intimacy/commitment issues.
Income: theoretically 30K/yr, but in practice 0/yr thus far, due to bureaucratic paperwork issues compounded with various acts of God that have prevented me from really starting my job for the past few months.
Social Life: Next to none, as I moved here in October after finishing my MS oversees. Hanging out with my older sister a lot.
Health: Very out of shape, otherwise physically healthy. Ongoing (and perhaps worsening) treatment-resistant depression. Can you tell?
Aged 26 on New Year’s Day of 1997 (I assume the reference date is Jan 1st):
Rel: Long-Term girlfriend (would get engaged in May of 1997)
Job: Working in computer programming for major Wall St. bank
Inc: Salary was 68K + very sizable bonus (not a “banker/analyst” level of bonus, but more than 50% of base)
Soc: Seeing close friends and family regularly, played a lot of bridge
Hlth: Prime of my life (gym 3x/week, full-court basketball 2x/week)
Car: None (lived and worked in NYC, no need for a car, or a place to park it)
I have to say I’m rather surprised, even shocked at how many Dopers were seriously inpecunious at age 26.
Welcome to how the other half lives. 
Job: I flopped from job to job at that period of my life; usually temp clerical jobs.
Significant Relationship: I got married to Mrs. Homie a few months shy of my 27th birthday.
Income: A pittance; we were flat broke.
Social Life: We socialized with friends here and there.
Health: Other than being overweight, not bad.
… 25 years younger than today…
Occupation: Doing my PhD Chemistry, next to last year
Significant Relationship: None
Income: PhD grant, about 25000 USD I guess
Social Life: Fun, chess and bridge clubs, good friends, good music
Health: Great
Worries: can I get a job in a year (turned out I could)
On my birthday:
Job: On maternity leave from my job as an office manager for a property management company
Significant Relationship: married; brand-new baby boy (2 days before my birthday)
Income: None - and I didn’t go back to work
Social Life: Just the way I like it - a few close friend and some acquaintences, plus good family members
Health: Great
Other: Owned our own home, two cars paid off, battling post-partum depression, trying to figure out if staying at home with a baby was really what I wanted to do
My first day, age 26 (July, 2001):
Job: Sales Engineer
Income: Around $90,000/year when you include commissions and bonuses
Relationship: Occasional relations, but no relationship
Social Life: mostly revolved around alcohol
Health: Worked 10-12 hour days with an hour commute on each side of that, spent far too much time drunk, got far too little exercise, put on a lot of weight
Other: Owned my own home, drove a brand new company truck, not at all happy
My last day, age 26 (July, 2002):
I sold my house and bought an old truck in January, 2002. Since then, I’d been driving around aimlessly, living (for the most part) in the truck, and just going wherever I felt like going. In early July, I was in South America, hitchhiking towards Cotopaxi National Park in Ecuador, and I was still a few months shy of running out of money.
Job: None
Relationship: None
Income: None
Social Life: Talking to the locals and other travelers
Health: Great
Other: Happier than a pig in shit. Probably smelled like one, too. :smack:
I’m only 23. Can I post the answers for where I want to be when I’m 26? Sure, I will.
Job: Screenwriter
Relationship: Polyamorous
Income: $1 million+
Social Life: I’m a private person but occasionally mingle with the humans.
Health: Pristine
Your sig, I think, is particularly significant there.
At 26 I had my first child. (he’s now almost 17)
Was unemployed that year…stayed home with him for 18 mths, then went back to work as a preschool teacher.
Was in a long-term relationship with the father (since I was 19, until this past year when he died)
All in all was an eventful, good, but somewhat stressful year.
I turned 26 in February of 1993.
Job: Contract Gopher, essentially. Then grad school at Iowa.
Significant Relationship: Engage, then married in July.
Income: 21K, then nothing at all.
Social Life: Happy. College and work friends around, then just Lady Chance and I after the move.
Health: Great, no worries at all.
It was a changing year for me. I went to grad school because I knew I didn’t want to shuffle papers for the government on contract my whole life…then I hated being back in school. The learning was good but the students drove me nuts. I came back and wham! publishing found me.
That was 1991 for me. I started they year off by going to the Rose Bowl Parade. That was fun, for a gal from Wisconsin. But at the time I was:
Job: Nanny in Pasadena, CA
Significant Relationship: Dating 2 men. One in the first part of the year(CA) and one at the end of the year(WI). But the middle 9 months or so, I was single.
Income: 15K, with all living expenses paid. I also had a car to drive, and only had to buy my own gas.
Social Life: Frustrating
Health: Pretty healthy.
Other: I was a bit depressed, and it only got worse over the next few years.
But all in all 26 was a good year.
I love all these replys, it’s really giving me a better view of my life. I guess living in an oil town has made me believe I was financially worse than many other people. Of course though I am very much behind others in the socializing department.
I am lonely but comfortable because I make decent money, but my time is monopolized from my teaching and secondary jobs. I would trade half my salary right now for a relationship.
Maybe I’m living my life backwards?
Who knows, anyways just thought I’d chime in again.
Me:
Job: Programmer
Significant Relationship: Dating now-husband
Income: >100K$
Social Life: In the “into each other and only each other” relationship phase
Health: Great
I turned 26 in November, 2001:
Job: Stay-at-home mom of a 5-year-old
Significant relationship: married (still am!)
Income: $0…I really can’t remember what my husband was making. $50K?
Social Life: Well, there was the SDMB…We also regularly played Dungeons and Dragons with friends from college. Had more time and energy to keep the place picked up and invite people over. Not a lot of extra money, but times had been worse.
Health: Can’t remember anything other than more colds once my daughter started kindergarten. I belonged to the Y and worked out regularly.
Being 2001, Sept. 11 affected that year to a certain extent. We were motivated to buy a house–that’s when those interest rates started dropping, IIRC. I spent a lot of time wandering neighborhoods and house-hunting. We bought our current residence in March, 2002. I think I was very much on the lookout for what to do next–after all, my daughter was starting school and didn’t need me so much anymore. I ultimately ended up getting a full-time job, but that wasn’t until I was 27.
I miss being 26 to a certain extent. I miss having that extra time to live my life in better balance. Perhaps, at 33, I am again on the lookout for what to do next…
Currently 26 …
Job: ESL instructor in Seoul
Income: I get paid hourly so it really depends, but somewhere around $40K
Significant relationship: Just got out of a messy 2-year affair and am now casually dating someone
Social life: Pretty active. My social circle is small but we hang out a lot.
Health: Not the best I’ve been, but decent I suppose.
When I was little 26 seemed like an obscenely old age. Now I feel like I still have a lot of growing up to do.