Pay is not determined by worth or value, exactly. It is chiefly driven by supply and demand. The supply of workers outside of the Bay willing to accept 25% less than a Bay area salary is more or less everyone while no one in the Bay would take that deal. Allowances should be made because some companies won’t adjust comp which skews the numbers a bit (supply and demand that is).
Trying to derive compensation from worth, value, or fairness is tantamount to a category error.
Trying to derive compensation from worth, value, or fairness is tantamount to a category error.