Salary people say would buy them happiness with millennials asking for huge wage

21 November 2023 , 09:34

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American millennials said they would need half a million dollars each year to be happy (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A new poll has revealed how important money is to Americans, with millennials saying they need an annual half a million dollars in their banks to be happy.

While around six in ten Americans believe that money can buy them happiness, there is a clear divide between baby boomers and millennials threshold for the budget they need to be happy. Baby boomers said that a salary of Baby Boomers are happy with an annual salary of circa $124,000 (£90,000) would be enough while their younger counterparts born in the 80s and 90s said they would need a year while millennials say they need around $500,000 (£400,000) to feel content.

The survey from Empower asked 2,034 Americans a series of questions in an online survey this August. Considering the median US salary is $74,000 (£60,000), millennials would need six times this amount to be happy. Gen X and Gen Z both said they would need slightly less than millennials, citing an average of $284,000 (£220,000) annual salary need to keep themselves content. Gen Z asked for three times less a year than millennials, whilst millennials asked for twice more than Baby Boomers.

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Baby boomers said they would be happy with just under £100,000 (Getty Images/Image Source)

The surveyors cited the global financial crisis of 2008, the pandemic and a slew of recessions as the reasons millennials sought more annual salary than Boomers to be happy. The poll also found that a sense fo stability is crucial to Americans happiness, and this largely lies in the ability to pay bills and rent on time, and live debt free. The freedom of owning your own home, and the ability to retire at a good age is also important to the majority of the US.

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Equally, the option to self-indulge is important to our friends over the pond, with around half wanting to be able to buy non-essential luxuries here and there. Indeed, 96 per cent said that making a purchase increases their general satisfaction. But this can also come in more simple forms, with the infamous millennial take-away coffee cited as a contributor to national happiness. For millennials said 62 per cent said they are willing to spend $7 (£5.59) on coffee.

However, three in four Americans reported that they're more satisfied at work and with their relationships than with their overall wealth. Other factors that were degrading respondents quality of life included: the rising cost of living, inflated interest rates, and student debt. For 81 per cent the rising cost of living was a problem, 66 per cent struggles with interest rates 32 per cent were concerned about student debt. These concerns were reflected in a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research last month.

Emilia Randall