At one point in your life you’ve likely been told, “Money can’t buy you happiness.”
Two renowned economists—the late Daniel Kahneman, a winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, and University of Pennsylvania professor Matthew Killingsworth—decided to put this adage to the test.
Separately, Kahneman and Killingsworth published two different papers with conflicting results about the relationship between money and happiness. In Kahneman’s 2010 study, he and his colleague, fellow Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton, found that happiness increases with income up until $75,000, after which it plateaus.
Killingsworth’s 2021 study, on the other hand, found that happiness increased alongside income with no limit.
In 2023, the two experts combined forces to finally answer: Is there a limit to how much money can bring you happiness?
It turns out for most people, there isn’t.
How much money you need to be happy
The acclaimed economists’ study, published in the journal PNAS, found that how happy money makes you depends on your overall emotional well-being. Drawing upon more than 450,000 responses to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, a daily survey of 1,000 U.S. residents conducted by the Gallup Organization from 2008 to 2009, researchers found that correlations between money and happiness were split into three groups based on well-being: least happy, middle-range happy, and the most happy.
They found that for the least happy group, happiness rose with income until $100,000, then plateaued. For those in the middle range of emotional well-being, happiness continued increasing linearly with income with no limit, and for the happiest group, happiness rose and then actually accelerated once they were past $100,000.
“In the simplest terms, this suggests that for most people larger incomes are associated with greater happiness,” said Matthew Killingsworth, a senior fellow at Penn’s Wharton School and lead paper author, in the press release.
“The exception is people who are financially well-off but unhappy,” he added. “For instance, if you’re rich and miserable, more money won’t help. For everyone else, more money was associated with higher happiness to somewhat varying degrees.”
One of the coauthors, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania Barbara Mellers, reflected that these findings show that money and emotional well-being aren’t connected by a single relationship. Happiness is dependent on a multitude of factors—and for the most unhappy, money alone cannot change that once you reach a certain income level.
The team of researchers behind the study believe that these findings could have real-world implications beyond how people relate to money. This kind of knowledge matters to individuals navigating career choices or weighing a larger income against other priorities in life, Killingsworth said.
That being said, Killingworth emphasizes that well-being depends on much more than income.
“Money is just one of the many determinants of happiness,” he said in the press release. “Money is not the secret to happiness, but it can probably help a bit.”
Why money makes you happier
Everyone has different reasons more money would make them happier: a relief from the stressful grips of student loan debt, being able to afford a nice home, providing for kids, having money to travel, better access to quality medical care, and creating a cushion for retirement.
But there are other factors at play when it comes to income and happiness.
Forbes reported that the late happiness researcher Ed Diener—nicknamed Dr. Happy—wrote in his book Happiness, “Financial resources can serve as a buffer against life’s negative events,” meaning that more money allows you to avoid the life stressors and worries that can come with being less fortunate.
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Humans also often fear scarcity, according to University of Texas professor Raj Raghunathan. He notes in his book If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy?, that feeling like we have enough is crucial to happiness: “When we are feeling abundant, life seems like a cozy mess: perfect despite its imperfections.” With that comes a sense of security, feeling like we have access to all the resources we could need.
More money also leads to a greater sense of freedom, according to sociologist Rachel Sherman and author of the book Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence. When she asked wealthy New Yorkers about the benefits of being wealthy, many responded that it provided freedom, a sense of control over their lives, and a feeling of autonomy.
Lastly, your happiness also depends on how you use your money. A 2017 study found that using money to buy time—specifically, buying time-saving services like help with common household chores such as cleaning, shopping, and cooking—increased happiness. Other research indicates that spending money on others and prioritizing experiences over material possessions both promote greater happiness.
For more on happiness:
- These are the 10 happiest cities in America, according to new research
- Researchers have followed over 700 people since 1938 to find the keys to happiness. Here’s what they discovered
- What time of day you feel your best and worst, according to research
- Hawaii is the happiest state in America. Here’s how the rest of the country ranks
