And in those cities, your housing is a smaller percentage of your disposable income than it is in Silicon Valley, but everything else, e.g. cars, phones, laptop

And in those cities, your housing is a smaller percentage of your disposable income than it is in Silicon Valley, but everything else, e.g. cars, phones, laptops, furniture, food, is a larger percentage. You also neglect stock purchase plans and RSUs, which are the majority of many engineers' compensation. You could make $160k per year at Apple or Google and get $200k of stock every year as well.