> as long as you’re not talking about silicon valley salaries, which most Americans aren’t
Since WFH became more common, high salaries have spread across the US. Several members of my team are earning $250k to $400k (depending on their level), and are scattered across the US, and many are living super-LCOL cities. For example, one guy (who makes over $350k) lives in Utah, and around the start of COVID he bought a large house with a lot land surrounding it, for (to him) a measly $270k.
> There are also definitely juniors in the US making $60k (and probably even less).
Nobody should be making that little in the US. $120k is the minimum for a software engineer in the US, regardless of location. If a SWE is earning less than six figures in the US, they're certainly being swindled.
There are also definitely juniors in the US making $60k (and probably even less).