You have the correct end result, but seemily misunderstand why wages are they way they are. Google does not pay someone in Seattle more than AR simply because

You have the correct end result, but seemily misunderstand why wages are they way they are. Google does not pay someone in Seattle more than AR simply because the rent is higher. The reason wages are higher is a result of people in Seattle demanding more money because their costs are higher, and if Google wants to attract talent there they have to offer a wage people will accept, that wage happens to be lower in Bentonville than Seattle WFH changes the dynamic in that Google can now recruit from anywhere in the US, thus the competition for a given job is higher so in normal times that will mean a lower wage over all There are many people that would not work for Google in the past in part because they could not or were unwilling to relocate to a city with a Google office, WFH eliminates this need thus more people will be willing to work for Google.