They say money doesn’t buy happiness, but research shows otherwise – having enough money does have an impact on your well-being. How much are we talking? Here’s where scientists disagree.

A 2010 study revealed that happiness peaked at $75,000 in annual earnings. A 2018 study published in Nature Human Behavior concluded that the ideal income for an American family of four would be $210,000. Now, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that money does appear to boost happiness for most people, up to earnings of $500,000.

Intrigued by these various findings, the Credello team decided to take things one step further and examine the relationship between household earnings and the salary needed to be happy in each state. The data uncovered the five states with the happiest couples based on how much these couples earn in relation to the ideal income to be happy in their state. Here are the results.

States With the Happiest Couples

The 5 states with the happiest couples

Depending on where you live, you need more or less money to be happy. The closer your income is to the amount of money needed to be content in your state, the happier you’ll tend to be.

According to Credello’s research, the five states with the happiest couples – meaning that the gap between how much they earn and how much is needed is smaller – are:

  1. Minnesota ($86,358 household earnings for a couple vs. $99,855 avg. salary to be happy)
  2. Illinois ($81,190 household earnings for a couple vs. $96,495 avg. salary to be happy)
  3. Colorado ($92,321 household earnings for a couple vs. $110,460 avg. salary to be happy)
  4. Kansas ($75,845 household earnings for a couple vs. $91,665 avg. salary to be happy)
  5. Iowa ($75,139 household earnings for a couple vs. $92,610 avg. salary to be happy)

High cost of living = High threshold for happiness

These data points align with the findings of a recent Moneyzine survey that revealed that, on average, a salary of $94,696 would satisfy American workers. This is more than the $75,000 mentioned in the 2010 study on money and happiness – but keep in mind that inflation has affected things in the past decade.

As for Hawaii and New York, which are two of the states with the highest cost of living, that number doubled: people in those states reported needing over $200,000 to be happy. So, a higher cost of living is likely to translate into a higher threshold for happiness.

The Bottom Line

Money does bring a certain amount of happiness, and Credello’s new research shows that this amount does, to a certain extent, depend on where you live. Couples in Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, Kansas and Iowa seem to have achieved a sweet spot between household earnings and cost of living.