In my experience, a lot of the companies in the Midwest wouldn't survive if they were paying salaries aligned with big coastal tech. I.e., they exist in the Mid

In my experience, a lot of the companies in the Midwest wouldn't survive if they were paying salaries aligned with big coastal tech. I.e., they exist in the Midwest because they can't exist elsewhere. And the rest are taking advantage of people who don't have the motivation or freedom to move out. (I knew a lot of CS grads in the Midwest who didn't bother applying to coastal companies.)