This is a good summary of one of my biggest issues with location adjusted salaries. It often seems to be adjusted as if you will be living in that location (and

This is a good summary of one of my biggest issues with location adjusted salaries. It often seems to be adjusted as if you will be living in that location (and retiring) in that location, which is rarely the case. Yes, in your example both engineers _may_ end up being equally-prepared for retirement, and be in a similar financial situation presuming that 1, all life costs scale proportionally (which is not true, college tuition for children is a great example, regular vacations are another), and 2, they will live in that location always. This is rarely the case, and just leaves the Bay area engineer _miles_ ahead when they relocate 10 years down the line.