Survey says you need more than $115,000 a year to be happy in Washington state
(The Center Square) – A survey from Purdue University and GoBanking Rates.com reported that the minimum salary needed to be happy in Washington State is $117,180.
GoBankingRates.com factored in each state’s cost-of-living index, which turned into $105,000 being the benchmark figure to establish how much money a person needs to be happy in every state.
“Globally, we find that satiation occurs at $95,000 for life evaluation and $60,000 to $75,000 for emotional well-being,” the study’s authors said in the Nature Human Behavior journal. “However, the study also found that the ideal income for life satisfaction in North America is $105,000, as reported by Inc.”
The study showed that while Washingtonians can buy happiness with over $115,000 in yearly salaries, they can still find “emotional well-being” in the range of $66,960 to $83,700.
Meanwhile, personal finance site WalletHub lists Washington’s total tax burden as 8.37%. That cost listed in their March 2022 report ranks 30th nationwide.
Seattle Resident Steve Szymusiak does not think the data is accurate for the entire state of Washington.
“As a single man living downtown that makes less than [$117,180], I’m still happy . . . I live within my means and do still have financial stress, so that extra money would definitely alleviate that,” Szymusiak said to The Center Square by phone. “If it were just Seattle, then that’s not outrageous, but to make that claim about the entire state is just not true. There’s more affordable places to live in Washington.”
Other west coast states ranked higher in cost for happiness. To be happy in California, a person would need $149,310. In Oregon, it is $136,605. And off in Alaska, the price for happiness is at $133,455.
The lowest cost for happiness in a state was $87,465 in Mississippi. The highest cost for happiness resides in Hawaii, at $202,965.
GoBankingRates determined the minimum salary needed for happiness by basing income satiation levels that were identified by researchers at Purdue University, along with each city’s cost of living index and unemployment rates. The website also included unemployment and crime rates for “informational purposes.”
Notably, the survey found that Washington’s unemployment rate is at 4.2%, which is a drop from the high point in April 2020 of 16.8%.
Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square
