The States With the Happiest and Least Happy Couples

You’ve probably heard the age-old saying that money can’t buy happiness, but research has a different story to tell – having enough money does impact your well-being. So, just how much money are we talking about? It depends on where you live, according to new Credello research on the states with the most and least financially content couples.

A 2010 study found that happiness tends to max out at an annual income of $75,000. Another study showed that an American family of four should ideally be making $210,000 to find their happiness sweet spot. More recently, research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggested that money can indeed make most people happier – at least until they hit the $500,000 earnings mark.

Fascinated by these findings, the team at Credello decided to explore how household earnings relate to the salary required to be happy in each state. Here are the states with the happiest and least happy couples, based on how their earnings stack up against the state-specific happiness benchmark.

The 5 states with the happiest couples

Credello’s research has pinpointed the top five states where couples appear to be the happiest. These are the states where the disparity between their earnings and the state’s happiness threshold is smaller:

1. Minnesota ($86,358 household earnings for a couple vs. $99,855 average 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 average salary to be happy)
4. Kansas ($75,845 household earnings for a couple vs. $91,665 average salary to be happy)
5. Iowa ($75,139 household earnings for a couple vs. $92,610 average salary to be happy)

The 5 states with the last happy couples

On the other hand, there are places where the difference between household earnings and the salary required to be happy is greater. Couples in these states are the least likely to be content:

1. West Virginia ($58,126 household earnings vs. $94,290 avg. salary to be happy)
2. Massachusetts ($96,358 household earnings vs. $157,395 avg. salary to be happy)
3. Oregon ($77,773 household earnings vs. $128,310 avg. salary to be happy)
4. New York ($80,784 household earnings vs. $142,485 avg. salary to be happy)
5. Hawaii ($88,181 vs. $195,300 avg. salary to be happy)

Cost of living vs. happiness threshold

These findings align with the results of a recent Moneyzine survey that concluded that, on average, American workers would be satisfied with a salary of $94,696 – more than the $75,000 from the 2010 study on money and happiness, but inflation has affected things since then.

It also makes sense that couples in Hawaii and New York made the bottom five. These are

two of the states with the highest cost of living. The higher the cost of living, the higher the happiness threshold. 

The Bottom Line

Money does contribute to happiness, and Credello’s new research revealed that the amount of money you need to be happy depends on where you live. Couples in Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, Kansas, and Iowa are doing the best on that front, while those living in West Virginia, Massachusetts, Oregon, New York, and Hawaii struggle the most.