Most companies base salaries on the "market rate." The rate is effectively set by the largest companies. So when the largest companies band together to keep the

Most companies base salaries on the "market rate." The rate is effectively set by the largest companies. So when the largest companies band together to keep the market rate down, it keeps them down across the entire industry. Even in other cites and states. Did some small companies pay more. Sure, but these smaller companies had a very limited number of openings. Many companies would claim to be not as big as google, so they would pay less.