That's according to a Gallup-Sharecare research project in conjunction with Time magazine, which finds that while more money does improve one's likelihood of feeling happy up to a certain threshold, that threshold varied depending on the part of the country in which study subjects lived.
The study finds that "[i]n the U.S., the chances of experiencing three positive emotions or actions—happiness, enjoyment and smiling/laughter—on any given day increases with household income. But those chances reach their limit at around $75,000 per year."
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And even more interestingly, adults living in the West North Central and West South Central regions hit peak emotional potential when their income is approximately $54,000 per year—but folks living in the East North Central region need a lot more money to get them to that peak emotional experience: a minimum of $120,000 per year.
And while you might expect that cost of living is the reason it takes so much more money in some places for people to hit the zenith of happiness, that's not really the case.
Although it is true that Pacific and Middle Atlantic regions, with their higher cost of living, don't see happy residents without annual incomes nearly double those of the West North Central and West South Central regions, it's not the case for East North Central.
Says the study, "The East North Central region around the Great Lakes comes with the highest price tag of all at $120,000+ per year to reach maximum positive emotions, for reasons that aren't immediately clear."
In researching 12 metropolitan areas where sample sizes were large enough across all income groups, the study finds that it can take a lot more money for happiness to hit peak in some of those metro areas.
The cities, and the dollar figures at which residents felt happiest, are as follows:
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Atlanta, Georgia, $42,000
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Chicago, Illinois, $54,000
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Dallas, Texas, $54,000
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Miami, Florida, $54,000
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Phoenix, Arizona, $54,000
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Washington, D.C., $54,000
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Boston, Massachusetts, $75,000
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Houston, Texas, $75,000
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Los Angeles, California, $105,000
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New York, New York, $105,000
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, $105,000
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Seattle, Washington, $105,000
Asked whether people should consider moving to an area where they'd feel happier on less money, lead researcher Dan Witters is quoted saying, "It ought to be a consideration that's on the menu. With some regions, like West North Central and South Central—right in the middle of America—it takes a lot less money to maximize the chance that you'll have a really good day."
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