I've been told by jobs both local (in ND, not that it matters) and remote that my wages were being determined by looking at the local average of people with my

I've been told by jobs both local (in ND, not that it matters) and remote that my wages were being determined by looking at the local average of people with my job title. It would be hard not to know that your salary is scaled to where you live. Another issue besides roots in moving is that higher wages always come with higher costs of living. I own a house where I live which has a lower mortgage payment, by far, than a small apartment in SF. Granted that comes with downsides: no decent curry, bars that can't make a manhattan, etc