Median household income in the U.S. stands at about $74,000 annually, but respondents told Empower that they’d need to earn roughly $284,000 each year to achieve happiness.
$74k is a good wage for one person (and an okay wage for a couple) who lives in an area with a decent rental market, minimal college loans, a paid-off car, and good employer-supplied healthcare. It's when you start factoring in the actual costs of housing, cars, college, and healthcare - or adding in the cost of kids - that things become unmanageable.