Worry about the quality of the work I produce for you and then pay me for it.
I completely agree with you in regards to a dollar being very different in SF as compared to KC, but that should have no relevance to how much I get paid.
> Your pay is actually not "going down"
Yes my pay actually is going down. I would literally be brining in less money. What I choose to do with that money should not matter to my employer.
Don't forget that if you earn less money in the same country then you'll pay proportionally less taxes. Made up numbers: CA = 120k gross -> 80k after tax. Another state: 100k gross ->70k after tax; Difference in cost of living: 10k). Now you are breaking even. Of course, totally made up numbers.
And as an extra, for every extra dollar you have in a cheaper state, you can do more with it than in CA.
Sure, I would love to make the same kind of money in the cheapest corner in the world but companies aren't there to make us rich; they are there to have a business! If you want to try to convince company to pay for what you produce instead of paying a fair salary, try contracting instead (and be good at selling yourself)
1. If I make more than approx $106k a year, I cap out on paying FICA. 2. As far as I know, everything I buy at places like Amazon costs the same regardless of where I live (with in the US). 3. Many financial incentives are provided as a percentage instead of a raw dollar amount e.g. 401k's are usually matched by percentage, raises are often a percentage increase.
Taxes are part of it. If overall state taxes (property, local, state, sales, and other fees) is 25% of your gross in CA, and 15% of your gross in MO, companies can reasonably expect to pay less in MO for the same work.
Another way to think about it, what percentile does your pay fall into for similar jobs in San Francisco versus Kansas City. If being paid $120k as a 5-yr Rails Developer in San Francisco puts you at the 50th percentile, move to Kansas City and all of a sudden that same $120k could put you in the 80th percentile (numbers are totally made up). Assuming developers aren't actually smarter in CA than MO, your percentile pay shouldn't change.