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Does high COL coincide to the fact their is jobs that have a higher then market salaries?
Example: Town has average job rate 10$ a hour /400 week. So COL is base on this wage. Everybody still have some funds left over to go eat dinner at red lobster. Rent around $300 and average food is $100 a week. So now google comes in offers $20 a hour /800 week. Since the Business and LL knows that the person got a huge pay check, they are now raising the rents to $600 and food is now $200. So why jack up the COL due to increase in a person pay check?
If there are a lot of high paying jobs yes, the COL will rise because a lot of people have high salaries. But if not, no. There are other factors like how desirable is the town/city you're talking about.
Its actually getting harder to find a High wages in a Low COL. I assume i was doing that my self. Work in austin, but live in killeen. It is cheaper by far, but slowly raising their prices. Because the high market rates is pushing people out of austin to outer part of towns. This is causing others to try and get austin rental rates in a min wage hour town.
high cost of living areas are not high in a vacuum . they are high because property taxes are high . property taxes are high because home values are high because the areas are desirable and in demand .because THAT IS USUALLY WHERE THE HIGHER PAYING JOBS ARE .
when we had our poconos home i could get a job with a competitor there , they pay half of what i earn in long island . the cost of living was about 1/3 less than i pay here
There definitely are exceptions. Someone in a high CoL area may make way above MW, but still be "hurtin'" to pay rent and other expenses. Other areas, it's the other way around. For example, I've talked with folks who live/d in Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart HQ's at. You have folks working there who make into the 6-figures for sure. However, while the place has many amenities, it's still less "sophisticated" than metropolitan areas. There's still a wide variety of cuisine, you can get sushi, there are several Walmarts. Folks there have mortgages that are 1/20 of their salaries (and these are spacy enough houses... 2 to 5 BR SFH), so CoL is still excellent there. Still not a hugely desired place, as some folks do turn down moving there, or due to their spouses.
Its actually getting harder to find a High wages in a Low COL. I assume i was doing that my self. Work in austin, but live in killeen. It is cheaper by far, but slowly raising their prices. Because the high market rates is pushing people out of austin to outer part of towns. This is causing others to try and get austin rental rates in a min wage hour town.
We live in NW Indiana and my husband commutes to Chicago for his job. It’s about an hour drive for him each way, but it’s worth it. We live in a low COL state, yet Chicago pays high wages. We moved from Illinois as it’s a high COL state. High property values, high income and sales tax and high property tax. We just moved right over the state line. So you don’t necessarily have to live in a high COL state to work there!
There definitely are exceptions. Someone in a high CoL area may make way above MW, but still be "hurtin'" to pay rent and other expenses. Other areas, it's the other way around. For example, I've talked with folks who live/d in Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart HQ's at. You have folks working there who make into the 6-figures for sure. However, while the place has many amenities, it's still less "sophisticated" than metropolitan areas. There's still a wide variety of cuisine, you can get sushi, there are several Walmarts. Folks there have mortgages that are 1/20 of their salaries (and these are spacy enough houses... 2 to 5 BR SFH), so CoL is still excellent there. Still not a hugely desired place, as some folks do turn down moving there, or due to their spouses.
Yea i know were your talking about. I use to work for wally for 8 years as traveling tech for them. Made really good money but cost me family time. That area is cheap compare to what the average person does get paid. Just waiting on those small towns around the area to start jacking up prices..
high cost of living areas are not high in a vacuum . they are high because property taxes are high . property taxes are high because home values are high because the areas are desirable and in demand .because THAT IS USUALLY WHERE THE HIGHER PAYING JOBS ARE .
when we had our poconos home i could get a job with a competitor there , they pay half of what i earn in long island . the cost of living was about 1/3 less than i pay here
I can see a small increase due to taxes ,but were talking double to triple the standard cost prior to increase in wages. The business cost doesnt change, its the profit margin they demand that does.
The big thing is, the actual amount of the salary, often does not mean much. When salaries in any field are adjusted for the local cost of living, can actually have considerably more buying power than in an over inflated cost of living area.
Just because a computer/software engineer can earn $125,000 in the Silicon Valley, does not mean they can live as well as they can in many other far less expensive cost of living areas with less income.
The total income one earns, does not mean as much, as what you can do with the it, and often the lower paid area will give you a far superior life style, due to the difference in the cost of living.
And some people that are really good at their job, can earn the same top money no matter where they live due to their unique talents, and can live at half the cost in some less cost of living area of the country. They can live on half their salary, owning a very nice upscale home, autos, etc., and invest the other half.
The amount of income is not near as important as what you can do with the money you earn.
I know one woman that contracts jobs adapting a very big program that will run entire companies with multiple facilities, that lives on a sail boat in the Caribbean area, doing her job with a satellite phone and satellite internet service. Sails and lives a great life, and makes more than nearly anyone in the Silicon Valley.
Another woman (now deceased) that did the same as a part time basis, while working for a major company in their field, as head of their software department, earning as much as $400 an hour part time, adjusting computer programs for companies around the country.
A man that left his job as head of the software/computer department of a major company that went to an island off of South America for 3 times a top salary, to spend a year with housing furnished setting up a software system. His wife adjusted a major program (same as the other woman) for companies around the world, and made very, very top money from her extra bedroom.
If you are good enough, you don't have to live in the Silicon Valley, to be a top IT professional to earn very top money, and even if not in the category as the 4 people mentioned above, when your income is adjusted for cost of living. It is not the amount you receive each month, but what the money you earn will buy.
I would have love to meet her. Thats really a dream job! COl shouldnt rise due to increase in pay.. it should be base on the LOWEST average rate in the community/town so they too can afford to eat.
Does high COL coincide to the fact their is jobs that have a higher then market salaries?
Example: Town has average job rate 10$ a hour /400 week. So COL is base on this wage. Everybody still have some funds left over to go eat dinner at red lobster. Rent around $300 and average food is $100 a week. So now google comes in offers $20 a hour /800 week. Since the Business and LL knows that the person got a huge pay check, they are now raising the rents to $600 and food is now $200. So why jack up the COL due to increase in a person pay check?
That isn't how it works. If there are lots of people that want to live in an area relative to the amount of housing available, cost of housing will go up. If the area has half the rental units empty anyway, then the landlords can't raise their rent.
There are a lot of things that influence COL. State and local taxes, how school districts are handled, crime, available land, etc...
If you look somewhere like San Francisco, COL is extremely high due to a perfect storm of factors; its on a peninsula, nowhere to really build out to; huge portions of the city limit zoning to 40 feet, that means you are limited to three or four stories, so can't get the density requisite in many urban areas. Add to that, they have rent control, which means people don't leave their apartments choking the supply for people that are coming in, and a huge number of tech workers with higher incomes, and you have the perfect storm.
Other places, like New York/New Jersey, schools are operated on a township level, and cost also corresponds to proximity to the city/rail lines into the city. So, one town might have 4% property taxes; on a $200K house that's an extra $8K in a hurry.
Groceries, perversely seem to be cheaper the nicer an area is. If an area has enough people that earn a certain income, they put in a bunch of grocery stores creating competition. Sure, the Aldi is cheaper than the Kroger and the Whole Foods is more expensive than that, but it helps the entire market. What's the worst is when the economy is stagnant and you have one game in town that charges accordingly since people don't want to drive.
I can see a small increase due to taxes ,but were talking double to triple the standard cost prior to increase in wages. The business cost doesnt change, its the profit margin they demand that does.
just taxes ? you don't get out much do you . there is a world of difference between the areas. the cost of living for the locals is way cheaper . most live in what looks like bungalows or tiny houses , not like ours in pa which was in a gated community .if i lived like a local the salary matches there
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