This is how much money you need to make to be happy living in California, study says (2024)

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Some San Fernando Valley residents are not happy about the possible low income housing developments coming to their neighborhood.

LOS ANGELES - If you want to know how much money you need to make to be happy living in California, the simple answer is "a lot."

A study from Purdue University and GoBankingRates.com found that you need a minimum annual salary of $143,220 to be happy in California, citing "California’s notoriously high cost of living."

The number is down from 2023, where it cited a salary of $145,365 to be happy living in California. California’s unemployment rate of 4.7% trails only Nevada in the study.

Which states require a higher salary than California in order to be happy? Only Massachusetts and Hawaii. In Massachusetts, the minimum salary needed to be happy is $155,400.

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Whereas in Hawaii, you need to make over $88,160 in order to be happy, the survey found.

Among the states with the lowest salary needed to be happy were Mississippi, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kansas. The minimum income required to be happy across these states was $89,000.

To get these results, analysts studied the cost-of-living-adjusted minimum salary needed to be happy based on income satiation levels identified by Purdue University researchers.

It also factored in each city’s cost of living index, unemployment rate, as well as property and violent crime rates.

If happiness isn't what you seek, maybe you're more inclined to live "comfortably." In that case, data showed a single adult needed an hourly wage of $65.74 or $136,739 to live comfortably in the state's most expensive city - San Jose. In Los Angeles, a single person needs $110,781 annually or $53.26 in hourly wages to be comfortable, according to the data.

To see the full study, tap or click here.