Abstract

Beyond that point, an increase in income doesn’t make a lot of difference to people’s happiness. Americans are richer than they were in the 1950s, but they are not happier. Americans in the middle-income range today — that is, a family income of US$50,000-$90,000 — have a level of happiness that is almost identical to well-off Americans, with a family income of more than US$90,000.