Inrecentyears,researchershaveattemptedtouseavarietyofstatisticsandsurveystoansweraquestionthat'soccupiedcountlessgenerationsofphilosophers:Whatmakesustrulyhappy?

　　Whilesomeevidencesuggeststhathappinessmaybelinked,inpart,torelativewealth—howwe'redoingcomparedtothosearoundus—overalltheoldadagethatmoneydoesn'tbuyhappinessseemstoholdtrue.

　　“Wearemateriallysomuchbetteroffthanwewere50yearsago,butwe'renotoneiotahappier,”saysChrisPeterson,apsychologyprofessorattheUniversityofMichigan.

　　That'snosurprisetohappinessexpertDavidMyers,whoseeshappinessasmorecloselycorrelatedwithpeopleratherthanthings.“Wehumanshaveadeepneedtobelong—toconnectwithothersinclose,supportive,intimate,caringrelationships,”hesays.“Peoplewhohavesuchcloserelationshipsaremorelikelytoreportthemselves‘veryhappy'.”

　　We'vecompiledalistofsevenfactorsthatinfluenceratesofhappinessanddepression.Manyofthesefactorsvaryfromcitytocityandregiontoregion.Here'syourchancetoseehowyourcitycompares.

　　HeWorksHardforHisHappiness

　　Doesworkingmakeyouunhappyorhappy?Theanswer:Itdepends.Toilingawayatajobyouhatemayeatawayatyourhappinessovertime.Butoverall,beingunemployedisworseforyourstateofmindthanbeingemployed—atleast,thatis,ifyou'reaguy.

　　ThePewResearchCenterfoundthatthepercentageofmenwhosaidtheywere“veryhappy”wassignificantlylowerforunemployedmen(16percent)thanforemployedmen(37percent).Unemploymenthadlittleimpactonwomen'shappiness.

　　ThePewresearchersspeculatethatthisisbecausemorewomenthanmenareunemployedbychoice,althoughthestudydidn'tattempttoteaseapartthatdifference.

　　ChrisPeterson,ahappinessresearcherattheUniversityofMichigan,suspectsthereareotherfactorsatplayaswell.“Otherstudieshavefoundthatifamanloseshisjob,itcanhavebothshort-termandlong-termpsychologicaleffects,evenifhefindsanotherjobwithequalsalary,”hesays.“Forwomenit'snotunemploymentthatleadstounhappiness,butdivorce.”

　　Inaddition,Petersonstressesthatmoneymatterslessthanyou'dthink.“Theengagedcustodianismorelikelytobehappythantheindependentlywealthy,unengagedmillionaire,”hesays.“Wedidn'tevolvetoberetiredandsitonthecouch.”

　　TimeforFamily,Friends,andCommunity

　　Inthegrowingfieldofhappinessresearch,onethingisoverwhelminglyclear.Peoplewhoaresociallyengagedaremorelikelytobehappy—andlesslikelytobedepressed—thanthosewhoaren't.

　　Infact,TimeMagazinepollfoundthatthefourmostsignificantsourcesofhappiness—children(77percent),friendships(76percent),contributingtothelivesofothers(75percent),andspouse/partner(73percent)—allinvolvedspendingmeaningfultimewithotherpeople.