From my point of view, the reason is that it's not a cost-of-life adjustment, it's a market rate adjustment. Companies pay a worker what is necessary for him to

From my point of view, the reason is that it's not a cost-of-life adjustment, it's a market rate adjustment. Companies pay a worker what is necessary for him to stay working for them. Even a remote-first company is in competition with on-site companies when it comes to hire/keep workers. So they need to pay the local market rate for each worker, otherwise he'll go work for someone else in his area. In the same way, they can afford to pay less to a worker moving to an area with a lower market rate, because he won't find a better alternative without moving.