$59,000 is only a good salary in comparison to how terribly most jobs pay in America. Many junior devs fresh out of college make more than that, and I sure as heck would not trust my junior devs with the responsibility for my children.

I know a bunch of people will jump in here and lecture about supply and demand, but the fact is the American economy is weirdly bimodal where essential services (public education, bridge repair, public transit) are cut to the bone, while you pay an exorbitant fortune to people doing nonsense jobs targeting ads or moving numbers around in Excel.