I have huge issues with these 'surveys' as they never seem to reflect market realities in my geography. In the last three years I don't think I've seen many eng

I have huge issues with these 'surveys' as they never seem to reflect market realities in my geography. In the last three years I don't think I've seen many engineer or developer jobs listed in the whole state of Arizona listing salaries above 80k. I'd guess the average advertised openings range 50 - 80k, with the majority of 80k-ish ones near Phoenix. However, most AZ companies needing devs seem to be Java shops with government ties hiring entry-level devs, which probably distorts the picture as most developers would then logically be graded up every year or whatnot and probably making above 80k after 3 years. So maybe I'm not really saying the numbers are wrong, just that they seem wrong for entry level and sub 25-year-olds in the AZ/NM region. Or that there's a big disconnect between listed salaries in job openings and the actual average salaries among those with established positions in most markets.