They have to pay more in higher CoL areas to attract candidates -- either ones from that area, or ones who would be moving in. They don't have to pay more in c

They have to pay more in higher CoL areas to attract candidates -- either ones from that area, or ones who would be moving in. They don't have to pay more in cheaper areas to attract candidates, so they don't. I took a substantial paycut at Google when I transferred from the US to Germany, for example, even though I was doing essentially the same work.