Now, economists say it's higher — by a lot. It's a question that economists, psychologists and armchair philosophers have grappled with for centuries: Can money buy happiness?
Global income satiation levels are the following: $95,000 for “life evaluation” and $60,000 to $75,000 for “emotional well-being.” In North America, the income satiation level is $105,000 for finding happiness, according to Purdue.
California's notoriously high cost of living is on display here, with just over $143,000 a year being needed to secure happiness. California's unemployment rate of 4.7% trails only Nevada in the study.
Just how much money do we need to earn to be happy nowadays? 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.
$520,000. That's how much income Americans think they would need, on average, to feel rich, according to Bankrate's Financial Freedom Survey published in July. That salary would put you comfortably among the top 2% of American earners, according to Census data.
In San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Oakland, all in California, a $100,000 salary is effectively halved, in terms of what it can afford. Here are the top 10 cities where $100,000 goes the furthest, and where a six-figure salary is worth the least.
Key Findings. 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.
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).
Yet different demographics aspire to varying ideal salary levels: Gen Z pegs it at about $600,000, millennials aim for $180,000 and boomers target $100,000. As Bloomberg notes, those figures vastly exceed the average U.S. salary, which was $67,000 in 2023, per Social Security data.
Researchers say the ideal income for maximum happiness is $75,000.
The median household income in Florida is around $59,227. A good salary in Florida can range from $50,000 to $100,000 or more, depending on various factors. It's important to consider expenses, lifestyle, and financial goals when determining what constitutes a good salary in Florida.
And the magic number is … Most of us will have to wait a few years. At least. The researchers found people reached their happiest when they arrived at the age of 70.
In other words, ultra-rich people are, in fact, far happier than people with modest incomes in the $70,000 to $80,000 range — the level historically associated with the happiness plateau. And modest-income earners are happier than those who earn less than them, too.
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.
Now, Killingsworth has found that happiness rises to even higher levels for the extremely rich, or those with assets between $3 million to $7.9 million, with their life satisfaction far exceeding that of people with mere six figure incomes.
Research from Gallup shows hourly workers currently report being significantly less satisfied than salaried staff with their vacation time, retirement benefits, pay, safety conditions, job security, opportunities for promotion, health insurance benefits, recognition for accomplishments, and flexibility of hours.
Generally speaking, many people can live comfortably making $95,000 per year. However, it depends on several factors, including where you live, how much you spend, and where you put your money. Those who live within a budget feel the most comfortable with that salary.
Only 18% of individual Americans make more than $100,000 a year, according to 2023 data from careers website Zippia. About 34% of U.S. households earn more than $100,000 a year, according to Zippia.
According to the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, the median income in the United States in 2022 was $74,580. While $60K a year is lower than that, it's still considered a good salary for a single person, as they typically have fewer expenses than someone who's supporting a household.
A Rocket Mortgage online tool finds that it costs $50,000 in Los Angeles to maintain the standard of living that a mere $34,674 would buy you in Phoenix.
Is making $100,000 a year common? Making $100,000 a year is not common in the U.S. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 15.3% of American households make more than $100,000.
Average Salary in California by Age in 2024
For instance, workers age 24 and younger earn an average of $44,205 a year, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Pay jumps up to an average of $90,138 a year for workers aged 25 to 44, and $98,785 a year for those age 45 to 64.