Local access to “wild,” common-pool terrestrial and aquatic resources is being diminished by global resource demand and large-scale conservation interventions. Many theories suggest the well-being of wild harvesters can be supported through transitions to other livelihoods, improved infrastructure, and market access. However, new theories argue that such benefits may not always occur because they are context dependent and vary across dimensions of well-being. We test these theories by comparing how wild harvesting and other livelihoods have been associated with food security and life satisfaction in different contexts across ∼10,800 households in the tropics. Wild harvests coincided with high well-being in remote, asset-poor, and less-transformed landscapes. Yet, overall, well-being increased with electrical infrastructure, proximity to cities, and household capitals. This provides large-scale confirmation of the context dependence of nature’s contributions to people, and suggests a need to maintain local wild resource access while investing in equitable access to infrastructure, markets, and skills. Display omitted •Hundreds of millions of people in the tropics harvest “wild” common-pool resources•Wild harvests are correlated with high relative well-being in remote and poor areas•Access to infrastructure, cities, assets, and skills also increase well-being overall•The well-being of many people relies on both wild resources and economic development Hundreds of millions of local people in the tropics harvest food, firewood, and other products from unmanaged (or “wild”) forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes, and seas. Yet global demand for resources, and proposals for large protected areas, are set to reduce the local availability of these wild products. Many people argue that local wild harvesters can be sufficiently compensated by investing in better infrastructure, improving skills, and creating alternative sources of income. However, new evidence calls for caution in assuming that wild harvests can be so easily substituted, especially in the short term. While improved access to infrastructure, markets and skills is beneficial, it needs to be balanced with continued access to wild harvests if the well-being of all groups is to be protected—especially among more remote, marginalized, and poorer communities. The contribution of wild resources to human well-being in different contexts remains debated. We analyze associations between wild harvesting, food security, and life satisfaction across ∼10,800 households across the tropics. We find that, while harvests are very common and strongly correlate with well-being in remote and poor areas, access to infrastructure, markets, and skills are also highly important. Policies should aim to maintain wild resource access while investing in equitable access to infrastructure, markets, and skills.