Here’s how much money it takes to be ‘happy’ in California
Asher Notheis
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Cultivating happiness while living in California requires deep pockets, according to a new study.
A minimum annual salary of $145,635 is needed to be content in the Golden State, making it the third most expensive state in the United States to achieve happiness. The high income needed to be content in California comes as the state experiences a 4.1% unemployment rate, one of the highest rates in the nation, according to a study by GoBankingRates.
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The study was conducted by looking into another study from Purdue University that looked at if money could be correlated to well-being and life satisfaction — it found the ideal income for life satisfaction in North America to be $105,000. Using $105,000 as the “benchmark,” the finance website factored in each state’s cost-of-living index to estimate how much money one would need to be happy or have “emotional well-being” in each state in the U.S.
The only two states that required more money than California to be content were Massachusetts and Hawaii, at $157,395 and $195,300, respectively. However, if one wished to settle for emotional well-being over happiness, he or she would only need to make $89,940 in Massachusetts and $111,600 in Hawaii.
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The state where happiness is the least expensive to achieve is Mississippi at $88,725, with emotional satisfaction being achieved at $50,700. Oklahoma and Alabama followed at $91,035 and $91,455, respectively, with emotional satisfaction being achieved in each at $52,020 and $52,260.
The study informed readers that “happiness” is subjective and said the cost to live comfortably can vary between each person.