Here Is The Income Level At Which Money Won't Make You Any Happier In Each State (2024)

FAQs

At what income level does happiness not increase? ›

Kahneman and Deaton found that happiness increased with income, but only to a point — there was no further progress beyond about $75,000 ($108,000 in today's dollars).

One study said happiness peaked at $75,000 in income.

The Purdue study also included figures for being content at the “life evaluation” and “emotional well-being” stages. Globally, those were determined to be $95,000 and $60,000 to $75,000, respectively. It's important to keep in mind, though, that “happiness” is subjective.

We found that the ideal income point is $95,000 for life evaluation and $60,000 to $75,000 for emotional well-being.

For example, making more money can make us do things that don't make us happy—such as working more and spending less time with friends and family (Aaker et al., 2011). Further, more money brings with it more choices, which doesn't necessarily bring happiness.

If you make $75,000 a year, you're earning more than half of all workers in the U.S. And in fact, many people would probably consider the salary as good pay. After all, a $75,000 salary works out to around $6,250 per month, $1,442.31 per week, or $36.06 an hour.

The answer is a bit more than the often cited $75,000 per year. In a 2023 paper published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal, key findings suggest that earnings up to $500,000 boost and buy overall happiness.

On average, an individual needs $96,500 for sustainable comfort in a major U.S. city. This includes being able to pay off debt and invest for the future.

In a large U.S. city, a middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000. The median household income across all 345 cities is $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590.

How much money is enough to be rich? ›

For example, individuals with $1 million in liquid assets are generally classified as having a high net worth. To be considered very high net worth, one might need assets ranging from $5 million to $10 million, while an ultra-high net worth status could require $30 million or more.

A salary of $94,696, on average, would make Americans happy, according to a new survey of over 1,200 people from Moneyzine.com. Earning a salary smaller than six figures isn't enough for everyone, though, especially in states with higher costs of living.

You'll need to earn more than half a million annually to be considered among the highest earning residents in 11 states and Washington, D.C.

“Good income is relative to the average household income in America, which is $78,000 right now.” Real median household income in the U.S. was $78,250 in 2019 and fell to $74,580 in 2022, according to the Census Bureau. "You're not a bad person. You're not a horrible income earner.

What do studies say about money and happiness? Purdue University found the ideal average income for people worldwide is $95,000 and $105,000 in the U.S. Beyond that, satisfaction with life deteriorates, it said.

Overall, Galbraith's study suggests that people with very low incomes achieve a level of life satisfaction that is just as high, and in some cases higher, than that found in wealthy nations. The authors also note that their findings are good news for planetary sustainability.

The Easterlin Paradox states that at a point in time happiness varies directly with income, both among and within nations, but over time the long-term growth rates of happiness and income are not significantly related. The principal reason for the contradiction is social comparison.

With a $500,000+ income, you are considered rich, wherever you live! According to the IRS, any household who makes over $500,000 a year in 2023 is considered a top 1% income earner. Of course, some parts of the country require a higher income level to be in the top 1% income, e.g. Connecticut at $580,000.

Although this particular midlife crisis image might be more fiction than fact, data does back up a general trend that we all typically go through a “midlife slump.” According to a 2016 Brookings Institution study, people in their 40s and 50s do tend to have the lowest levels of life satisfaction out of any age group.