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BOSTON (WBZNewsRadio) - A new report is asking the age old question, as to whether or not money can truly buy happiness. The minimum salary to be happy in Massachusetts is $139,125.
The findings were based on a Purdue study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, which researched how income, emotional well-being and life satisfaction are all connected.
Professor Catherine Sanderson of Amherst College says there is more at play here than just money.
"If you are wealthier, then you live around other people who are wealthier and that makes you feel worse because you do a comparison." Sanderson told WBZ's Matt Shearer.
Despite these findings, the median household income in the commonwealth is $81,215, according to Census.gov. It's the highest income level in New England. New Hampshire's minimum salary to happiness was set at $114,975, Maine's was $122,325, Vermont had $122,640, Rhode Island’s was $125,160 and Connecticut was set at $128,415.
Even higher than Massachusetts, the minimum income to be happy in California, according to Yahoo, is $145,845, with New York even higher at $153,195 and Hawaii the most expensive at $203,070.
The cheapest states to be happy are Mississippi, Kansas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Arkansas
On a Global level, the research suggests that satiation occurs at the $95,000 mark for life evaluation and somewhere between $60,000 and $75,000 for emotional well-being.
WBZ's Matt Shearer (@MattWBZ) reports
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