A recent study revealed how much money you need to make in Indiana in order to be happy, and it's concerning.

There's an old saying that says you can't buy happiness. While in theory, that might be true, we all know how stressful the concept of money can be. Growing up, my parents worked hard to provide the essentials we needed to survive: food, shelter, and clothing. Both parents were factory workers and, at times, lived paycheck to paycheck. However, they still made it a point to get me involved in sports, go all out on Christmas gifts, and other things that they really didn't have the extra money to afford. I'm proud of my upbringing, and it really taught me a lot. All of that being said, apparently money can provide you with happiness, according to a recent study. There's actually a certain amount of money that we need to make in order to be happy here in Indiana.

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Can Money REALLY Buy Happiness?

A survey from Purdue University and GoBankingRates.com found that income can correlate with emotional well-being and life satisfaction. So they found out how much money you need to make in each state to be happy. Granted, happiness is subjective, and the cost to live comfortably can vary from person to person. Here's how GoBankingRates.com came to their conclusions:

To estimate how much money you might need to be satisfied or happy in every U.S. state, GOBankingRates factored in each state’s cost-of-living index and used the $105,000 figure as the “benchmark.” The states were ranked from least to most amount of money needed to be happy. GOBankingRates also included unemployment and crime rates for many states for informational purposes.
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Dmitriy Shironosov
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How Much Money You Need to Make to be Happy in Indiana

Before I share the results with you, I must first say that it's somewhat concerning the amount Hoosiers need to make to be happy. Most of us don't make this much money, myself included. The cost of living is very high right now, due to inflation, and it can be very hard to buy the things you need, pay your bills, and still have money left over. If you are struggling with that, trust me, I'm right there with you.

In any event, GoBankingRates.com found that the minimum salary needed to be happy in Indiana is  $95,130. That's a pretty hefty amount of money! The study goes on to say:

Hoosiers features one of the lowest unemployment rates on this list at 2.2%. Additionally, Indiana has a low crime rate that should help residents manage the crisis just a little easier. And to achieve a state of emotional well-being only requires $54,360.
Happy young man screaming super excited
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So, if you make around $54,360 annually, you should be doing alright too. However, there are still many of us who don't make that much. For me, I think the question here is what is going to have to give to allow Hoosiers to live more comfortably. It seems like it's getting harder and harder not to live paycheck to paycheck. Hopefully, we can all find a way to be a little happier by earning a little more money...or at least have the cost of living go down sooner rather than later.

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