What income is the happiest?
Most people's happiness rises linearly with income, while about 30% of people are the "happiest," experiencing accelerating well-being once their earnings rise above $100,000.
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.
California. 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.
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.
Millennials said in a survey they needed $525,000 a year to be happy. Here's what a Nobel prize winner's research says about money and happiness. On average, respondents to a new survey said they needed $1.2 million in the bank to be happy. Millennial respondents said happiness would come from a $525,000 annual salary.
For most individuals and small families, the answer to “Is $100,000 a good salary?” is a resounding “yes.” Cost of living and family size can affect how far $100,000 will go, but generally speaking, you can live comfortably on $100,000 a year.
According to the latest figures by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average salary in USA per month is $5,677 or $68,124 per year. As of 2023, the gross minimum salary in the USA is $32.75 per hour. Salaries range from $32,916 to $112,268 per year and include housing, transport, and other benefits.
Research shows that materialism actually leads to unhappiness and dissatisfaction. By simplifying your life and reducing the amount of Stuff you own (or want to own), you’ll save money and be happier. Help others. Altruism is one of the best ways to boost your happiness.
Based on that figure, an annual income of $500,000 or more would make you rich. The Economic Policy Institute uses a different baseline to determine who constitutes the top 1% and the top 5%. For 2021, you're in the top 1% if you earn $819,324 or more each year. The top 5% of income earners make $335,891 per year.
Construction workers have the highest levels of self-reported happiness of any major industry category, according to a new analysis by BambooHR.
What is US average salary?
How much does the average American make a year? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average U.S. annual salary in Q4 of 2023 was $59,384. This is up 5.4% from the same time period in 2022 when the average American was making $56,316 per year.
Only 12.3% of Americans make in the $75,000 to $99,999 range. An additional 16.4% make between $100,000 and $149,000. However, a large portion of Americans (16.2%) earn in the $50,000 to $74,999 range.
If you retire with $500k in assets, the 4% rule says that you should be able to withdraw $20,000 per year for a 30-year (or longer) retirement. So, if you retire at 60, the money should ideally last through age 90. If 4% sounds too low to you, remember that you'll take an income that increases with inflation.
Gen Z loneliness statistics paint a concerning picture: over 73% of Gen Zers report feeling lonely, with many believing their generation suffers from loneliness more acutely than any other.
Age and generation both matter for happiness. As between generations, those born before 1965 (Boomers and their predecessors) have life evaluations about one-quarter of a point higher than those born after 1980 (Millennials and Gen Z).
On the other side of that, the states where you need the most money to earn a living wage for four people all require an income of more than $100,000. These are all coastal states known for high real estate prices, including Hawaii, Massachusetts, California, New York and Alaska.
How much does a Six Figures make in California? As of Apr 13, 2024, the average annual pay for the Six Figures jobs category in California is $96,178 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $46.24 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,849/week or $8,014/month.
$100,000 a year is how much an hour? If you make $100,000 a year, your hourly salary would be $48.08.
The national median for living comfortably alone is $89,461, which suggests that a 50/30/20 budget might not be practical for most single people. Living alone comes with added costs that can be more than double what you'd spend if you lived with someone else — otherwise known as the “singles tax.”
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a 2K job is above the national average. Topping the list is Berkeley, CA, with New York City, NY and Renton, WA close behind in the second and third positions.
What is considered a good salary 2024?
| Annual Salary | Hourly Wage | |
|---|---|---|
| Top Earners | $86,000 | $41 |
| 75th Percentile | $68,500 | $33 |
| Average | $44,910 | $22 |
| 25th Percentile | $24,500 | $12 |
The lifestyle of the rich and famous can be isolating. The constant scrutiny, media attention, and the difficulty of finding individuals who can relate to their experiences can lead to social isolation. This isolation can make it challenging to form genuine friendships.
Once you hit an annual household income of $75,000 (£62,000), earning more money didn't make you any happier. In 2021, the happiness researcher Matthew Killingsworth released a dissenting study, showing that happiness increased with income and there wasn't evidence of a plateau.
Psychologists have long agreed more money can equate to more happiness — to a certain extent. Since a notable study published in 2010 by Princeton University's Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton, many have agreed that after about $75,000 a year, your happiness somewhat plateaus, even if your income increases.
If you had an income of $200,000, that would put you in the top 12% of household incomes or the top 5% of individual incomes in 2022. Though I prefer household income over individual income, no matter how you cut it, $200k a year puts you on the higher end of the income spectrum.
