Russians need a quarter of a million rubles a month to be happy
Photo: Svetlana MAKOVEEVA. Go to Photobank KP
As they say, happiness is not in money, but in its quantity. The job search service SuperJob conducted a traditional survey on how much money Russians need to be happy. The survey was conducted in different regions of the country and included Russian workers.
This year, the demands of Russians have increased. The most demanding residents were residents of Moscow, Vladivostok, Rostov-on-Don, Tyumen and Krasnoyarsk. According to the survey, today the average Russian needs 250,000 rubles a month to be happy. This is 16% more than in March of this year, when a similar survey was conducted, and 25% more than a year ago. Surprisingly, men need more money to be happy than women – 270 thousand rubles, while women need 230. Moreover, the demands increase with age. For young people, if they have not reached the top of the career ladder, 185 thousand rubles a month is enough, and for Russians over 45 years old – already 260 thousand rubles.
– The fact that Russians’ wage demands have increased by 16% practically corresponds to the dynamics of growth in accumulated wages in the country. In June, the increase in accumulated wages (i.e. wages before personal income tax and various taxes – Ed.) amounted to 117% compared to June last year. Real wages (minus taxes and inflation – Ed.) are also growing steadily – by 8-10% annually. When incomes rise, consumption naturally increases. And people automatically, at the genetic level, set a higher bar for the desired salary. In fact, in our demands we are already approaching European wages, albeit for the lowest-paid professions. In Western European countries, janitors, cleaners and removalists receive 2,500 euros per month (250,000 rubles in our money). But for comparison, just three years ago people with a salary of 100,000-150,000 rubles considered themselves happy,” Georgiy Ostapkovich, director of the Market Research Center at the Higher School of Economics, told Komsomolskaya Pravda.
NUMBERS ONLY
TOP 7 Cities with the Highest Salary Requirements
Moscow – 276 thousand rubles,
Vladivostok – 270 thousand rubles
Rostov-on-Don – 257 thousand
Tyumen – 253 thousand rubles
Krasnoyarsk – 250 thousand rubles
Ufa – 248 thousand rubles
Ekaterinburg – 247 thousand rubles
TOP cities with the lowest salary expectations
Kirov – 190 thousand rubles
Ryazan – 210 thousand rubles
Kemerovo – 210 thousand rubles
Izhevsk – 212 thousand rubles
Saratov – 215 thousand rubles
Orenburg – 215 thousand rubles
Naberezhnye Chelny – 215 thousand rubles
According to the SuperJob portal
