Santa Barbara, California, is the city with the highest cost of happiness in the US, with residents there needing a salary of $162,721 to feel content, a survey has revealed.
Happiness is most affordable in Knoxville, Tennessee, where people claim to need an income of just $88,032 – some 85 percent lower.
Research from foreign exchange provider S Money claims to have found the optimum sum of money that citizens in America – and in 173 countries worldwide – need each year to be happy.
It found that Iran is the most expensive country to be happy – with residents requiring a salary of $239,700 – while those living in Sierra Leone only need an income of $8,658 to feel satisfied.
The US as a whole has a happiness price tag of $105,000, according to the survey – ranking tenth in the world.
Santa Barbara, California, is the city with the highest cost of happiness in the US, with its residents needing a salary of $162,721 to feel content, a survey has revealed
The cost of living in Santa Barbara (pictured) is 57 percent above the national average – making the price tag for achieving happiness higher
Happiness in the US is most affordable in Knoxville, Tennessee, where people claim to need an income of just $88,032
According to the Economic Research Institute, the cost of living in Santa Barbara is 57 percent above the national average – making the cost of happiness much higher in the Californian coastal city.
The second most expensive city in the US to be upbeat is Honolulu, Hawaii, where residents need a salary of $148,943.
New York City ranks third at $145,028, San Francisco ranks fourth at $144,448, and Seattle, Washington, comes in fifth place where residents need $134,731 to be happy.
Meanwhile Cincinnati, Ohio, follows Knoxville, Texas, as the second cheapest place in the US to be content. Residents there need an income of $93,398 to be happy.
Memphis, Tennessee, follows in fourth place – where locals need $94,413 to be happy – closely followed by Salt Lake City, Utah, at $95,428.
Worldwide, Yemen follows Iran with the second highest price of happiness – at $172,140 – followed by Australia in third place at $121,191.
They say money can’t buy you happiness, but a fascinating new study from foreign exchange provider S Money begs to differ
Researchers calculated the findings by consulting a Purdue University study that analyzed the relationship between happiness and income.
This study recorded the so-called ‘satiation point for Life Evaluation (LE).’
S Money said: ‘Life Evaluation is a metric that measures how good an individual considers their life to be.
‘The satiation point of LE refers to the income point at which any further increase in income has no effect on an individual’s happiness.’
The findings come after the annual rate of inflation in the US crept up to 3.7 percent as experts blamed soaring gas prices for the uptick. It is still well below last June’s peak of 9.1 percent – but remains above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent.
America has fared better than most countries in its battle to tame soaring prices. By comparison inflation is now at 6.4 percent in the UK and 6 percent in Australia.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk