This suggests that cost of living in SF is the cause of high salaries but in fact the only reason SF/Bay Area has high cost of living is because of the high con

This suggests that cost of living in SF is the cause of high salaries but in fact the only reason SF/Bay Area has high cost of living is because of the high concentration of highly capital efficient businesses with strong skilled labor demand coupled with the complete unwillingness to build high rise density most places in the Valley area. I know quite a few people who make SF level salaries working remote in random states across the country. Of course it can work. And SF should not get too cocky. Detroit used to be the Motor City, Music City, and a cultural and technological force in the world, but then its core competencies got disrupted by cheaper, more efficient labor elsewhere.