I've worked for two separate companies as a remote worker, and with neither did I have to take a discount. Most companies want to pay you for the value you bring, and are not willing to lowball and risk losing highly-talented employees.

There are a few companies out there that play this game (Gitlab [1]), but many others (Basecamp [2]) that pay you what you're worth regardless of location.

[1] https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/global-c...

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16051062

Employers will happily take you up on a discounted rate if you offer it. But then they'll also pay you your market value if you ask for that instead. So that's what I do.

Took a few years to work that out though, personally, so I'm glad you asked for the benefit of anybody else who may not realize it yet.

Not the OP, but know several remote workers for Bay Area companies, and all are getting comparable salaries. The ones in FL and TX are seeing quite a bit more take-home due to no state taxes.

Not OP but having been in this situation I am willing to offer a discount, but I still insist on a premium over what I could earn locally; as a remote I am giving up career advancement so comp neefs to recognize this. Otherwise I might as well work locally and get the career benefits of being onsite.