New study claims it takes $112,000 to be happy in New Orleans

Photo: Visit New Orleans

BATON ROUGE - Humanity has long been fascinated by the notion of happiness. Numerous studies have been carried out in an effort to define the quality and explain what triggers it.

One of the most recent studies in this regard anaylzes the question: 'how much money does a person need to have to be happy?'

A group of researchers at Purdue University, firm in their belief that the amount of money it takes to be happy varies according to location, set out to answer this question.

They used two key terms to determine money’s impact on happiness: emotional well being and life evaluation.

The first term, ‘emotional well-being,’ measures a person’s passing emotions throughout the day.

The second term, ‘life evaluation,’ is defined as a person’s overall satisfaction with the direction of their life.

The researchers hoped to find the amount of money it takes for a person to reach a point where neither their emotional well-being nor life evaluation are affected by money.

The Purdue researchers determined that North Americans who reach this point make about $105,000.

GoBankingRates took this information and went a step further. The company used the research studies findings to predict exactly how much money it would take for someone to be happy in 50 of America's biggest cities.

Using this scale, GoBankingRates found that a person living in New Orleans would need an annual salary of $112,875 to be happy.

Of course, some New Orleans residents who make considerably less than $112, 875 might argue that all it really takes to be happy is good music, good food, and good wine.