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.