I agree that question is difficult to answer, but it still exists even if everyone lives in same area and earns the same amount.
The question is better backwards I think. Should your personal cost of living be factored into your wage for the same work?
And the truth is there is a market rate for labour (usually regionally) and that affects the viability of businesses where they fail if market wages are too high for them to make a profit.
So likely if you work for an established business, you're getting paid less than the value you're creating, and if you work for a startup that question has not yet been answered.
> Should your personal cost of living be factored into your wage for the same work?
Debatable, do you see cost of living and food as a personal expense? To me they’re basic human rights that every person deserves, if you hire a worker in an expensive city, then the basic cost goes up. Likewise if you hire someone in a place where the cost of living is cheaper, then that basic cost goes down.
But now the question is, what happens when you hire a worker in an expensive city, but then allow them to work remotely from a cheaper city, should that affect his/her salary?
The question is better backwards I think. Should your personal cost of living be factored into your wage for the same work?
And the truth is there is a market rate for labour (usually regionally) and that affects the viability of businesses where they fail if market wages are too high for them to make a profit.
So likely if you work for an established business, you're getting paid less than the value you're creating, and if you work for a startup that question has not yet been answered.