text: though money doesn't buy happiness, what's the minimum income need to be happy in the u.s.? i heard it's about in the 30k-40k range.  agree or disagree? with the rising cost of living, i would think that it would require more than that to at least provide the basic necessities of life for the average family (2 parents, and 2 children). i would think that it would have to be at least $60k, but i guess that also depends of geographical location, among other things...