See that's just it - in the tech industry, sure, but I disagree with your previous comment in regards to "people working in the Bay Area generally". There are a

See that's just it - in the tech industry, sure, but I disagree with your previous comment in regards to "people working in the Bay Area generally". There are a lot of people working in a lot of industries far outside of tech that just simply don't pay anywhere near tech wages. Even many tech-adjacent industries (such as the ITAD industry I worked in when I was in the area) don't come close to touching the income that is seen on this forum. The, "if you're wealthy enough" bit is a massive, massive IF for so many people that live there. It's not true that "the spending power of most people living here is higher" because many are still stretched thin trying to get by due to the high CoL. More than other regions? Sure, but most people in the area? Not a chance. That disproportionately high number of tech workers relative to other regions is, as you say, what increases the CoL, but it makes it that much harder for people not in the industry, not making those wages, to maintain that CoL for themselves.