Money can't buy happiness, researchers at a Paris-based economic think tank have concluded.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Better Life Index finds that the United States ranks No. 1 in terms of household wealth but No. 12 in terms of life satisfaction, U.S. News & World Report finds.

Denmark, ranked 16th in household wealth, turned out the be the happiest OECD nation, while Hungary, 29th, was the least satisfied with life.

Editor's Note: Startling Proof of the End of America’s Middle Class. Details in the Video

American household wealth comes to an average $102,000, with Switzerland coming close at $95,000 on average.

American misery may reflect an income gap.

"While Americans make loads more money than many other nations, the U.S. also has one the largest gaps between the rich and poor, with the top 20 percent of the population earning nearly $82,000 a year while the bottom 20 percent get by on just $10,600," U.S. New & World Report adds.

Americans also work longer hours and take fewer vacations and sick days.

Things may be looking up, a separate Gallup poll shows.

More Americans feel better about the fate of their financial situations these days, with 63 percent saying they expect to be better off a year from now, up from 52 percent a May-June poll in 2008.

"The fact that 63 percent of Americans think their financial situations will be better in one year is not unusual by historical standards. But it is modestly more positive than it was at the low point of 2008, which suggests that the average American appears to see some light at the end of the financial tunnel," Gallup reports.

Editor's Note: Startling Proof of the End of America’s Middle Class. Details in the Video