The trick here is that you compare overall earning over the US (including rural Arkansas and such) with "mid-city" rent - i.e. only select places. According to https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/average-ren... at least half the states have median rent below $1000. And yes, you can't live in San Francisco on Arkansas salary, but if you ever tried to hire a plumber in Bay Area, especially for a job beyond "my faucet is leaking", you know very well it costs a real lot.