An update to the figure after which more money doesn't buy more happiness

[james.hendrickson]

Most people assume thatt $75k is the magic number after which if you make more money, it doesn't necessarily make you any happier. According to this study, that number is now $105k for North American households.

The finding is based on an international Gallup survey of over 1,000,000 people. Here is a fun chart that shows where North Americans stand relative to the rest of the world.



here is the link to the original article:

https://qz.com/1211957/how-much-money-do-people-need-to-be-happy/

What do you guys think?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I'd like to know what the after-taxes income is for these.

And the Middle East & North Africa are satiated at $115,000? Wow, what percentage of that population could possibly have that sort of income?

[kork13]

And the Middle East & North Africa are satiated at $115,000? Wow, what percentage of that population could possibly have that sort of income?

Depends on the country you're in. Most mid-east/north Africa countries are moderately developed, and often have many similar jobs/fields that we've got in North America. Sure, a smaller percentage may hold jobs at (and well above) that level, but it's by no means a tiny percentage, especially in the Gulf States (Qatar, UAE, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc.). There is simply a much greater disparity between low earners and high earners.

And remember what this survey is about... These dollar figures are where happiness (life satisfaction) no longer increases notably due to an increase in income. So a goat herder earning $10k/yr will be happier earning another $10k. A shop owner in the souk earning $40k/yr will be happier earning another $10k. An Emirates Airlines pilot earning $300k/yr probably won't be notably more happy earning another $10k.

[bjl584]

It's all perspective.

Who is saying that $105K makes you happy? Probably people that earn half of that.

There are people out there that earn that much every day. I'm sure that their idea of happiness, monetary or otherwise, would be much different.

[disneysteve]

These surveys are crap, plain and simple. What they do is ask a bunch of people how much money they'd need to be happy. The majority of respondents give a figure well above what they currently earn. Since the median income in the US is about 55K, that means that people typically think that earning about twice as much would make them happy.

I don't have it in front of me but there's a similar survey in Money magazine this month but done with multimillionaires and the results are similar. They all said they need a lot more than they currently have to be happy.

The bottom line is that almost everyone thinks that they will be happier if they have more money. The amount is relative to their situation but the sentiment is the same.

Speaking personally, I can tell you that my income this year will be about 65% higher than it was 3 years ago and I am way happier and I was earning above that 105K figure back then. Would more money make me even happier? Absolutely!

[phantom]

These surveys are crap, plain and simple. What they do is ask a bunch of people how much money they'd need to be happy. The majority of respondents give a figure well above what they currently earn. Since the median income in the US is about 55K, that means that people typically think that earning about twice as much would make them happy.

I don't believe that's the way this particular survey worked. Its sounds like they asked people how much they made and how happy they were independently, and then compared the self-reported happiness levels of people at various income levels.

That said, I find grouping data from all over North America to be totally meaningless. It's bad enough to try grouping all of the US where $105k in a major city like New York or LA buys you a drastically different lifestyle than it would in small town in the middle of the country. But, when you throw in other countries with drastically different taxes and benefits, it gets even more ridiculous.

[disneysteve]

I find grouping data from all over North America to be totally meaningless. It's bad enough to try grouping all of the US where $105k in a major city like New York or LA buys you a drastically different lifestyle than it would in small town in the middle of the country. But, when you throw in other countries with drastically different taxes and benefits, it gets even more ridiculous.

Agreed. I noticed that it was North America and not just the US. There are such extreme variations. Just in the US, the median income in Mississippi is about 40K while in Maryland it's almost 76K. If you drill down even deeper than the state level, the numbers get even broader. The richest county is at about 125K. the poorest is at about 17K. How happy those folks will be based on their income surely varies a great deal.

[~bs]

crazy how some locals seem to be so little, of course cost of living probably way cheaper there as well.