Not quite. Let's compare them with some BLS data. For teachers, I'll pick elementary schoolteachers other than special education, which seem to be in the middle

Not quite. Let's compare them with some BLS data. For teachers, I'll pick elementary schoolteachers other than special education, which seem to be in the middle of the pack. In Boise, an elementary schoolteacher earns $52,500 on average, while the computer programmer earns $75,070 - 43% more. "Software developers" (a different BLS job from programmers) are paid even higher: $96,980, or 84% more than teachers. The mean wage for an elementary schoolteacher in San Francisco is $86,920, while for a computer programmer it's $126,220 — 45% greater. For software developers, it's $158,320, which is 80% higher than the teachers. Nationally, this also applies: elementary teachers make $67,080, while programmers make 45% more at $96,650 and software developers 80% more at $120,990. So while it's true that the ratio of software engineer and schoolteacher salaries is similar between Boise and San Francisco, this ratio is quite large (not "marginally better"), and software businesses being in high cost-of-living areas doesn't seem to explain why software engineers are paid so much (they still earn a lot more than teachers even in cheap areas). Data is sourced from the BLS: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_14260.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_14260.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_41860.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_41860.htm