Survey: More than $180K needed annually to live ‘happy’ in DC

People living in Washington, D.C., need to be raking in an annual salary of close to $183,000 to be happy, a new survey finds.

The survey from Purdue University and GoBankingRates.com found that Washington residents need to be making at least $182,595 per year to be happy there, local station Fox 5 reports.

The survey also finds that people need to be making between $104,340 and $130,425 each year for their emotional well-being.

In order to determine emotional well-being, the survey measured a person’s day-to-day emotions and where money no longer changed this level of well-being.

“That might be surprising, as what we see on TV and what advertisers tell us we need would indicate that there is no ceiling when it comes to how much money is needed for happiness, but we now see there are some thresholds,” Andrew Jebb, a doctoral student and the lead author of the study, said in a news release.

The survey also showed that those living in Los Angeles must be earning at least $204,855 to be happy, while in New York City, this amount is $219,765 per year. The highest threshold came from San Francisco, where residents need to be making $319,935 each year to be happy there, Fox 5 reports.

Many of America’s largest cities are home to some of the most expensive housing markets in the country and are also places where population growth has slowed in recent years.