Higher earners are happier, in part, because of an increased sense of control over life, he says. "When you have more money, you have more choices about how to live your life. ... "Although money might be good for happiness, I found that people who equated money and success were less happy than those who didn't.

Does wealth increase happiness?

People actually are happier when they make more money: Wharton study. Conventional wisdom suggests that “money can't buy you happiness.” And well-known research from 2010 had shown that people tend to feel happier the more money they make only up until a point of about $75,000 a year.

How does wealth influence happiness?

The study found that money did have an impact for how people evaluate their lives when they think about it; that people with more money feel better about their lives. However, emotional well-being rose with income, as expected too, but only to an annual salary of $75,000 ($90,000 in today's money).