Agreed; I've seen many engineers in my company moving to Seattle for this reason. While it lacks the Bay Area's startup scene, you still have very good options

Agreed; I've seen many engineers in my company moving to Seattle for this reason. While it lacks the Bay Area's startup scene, you still have very good options with large companies. Other costs some may consider are weather and culture. I suspect the vast majority of the income gain is due to Washington lacking a state income tax. e.g. a single eng pulling $200k is paying $15k/year ($1300/month) in CA state income taxes and $0 for WA State. The tax code changes for this year only make it more true.