Outside of subsistence salaries, which are not sustainable long term through illness, emergency, and retirement, rate of growth of net worth is a better metric.

Point being, putting 2X thousand dollars a year in long term savings in NYC is a better financial choice than saving X thousand a year in Townsville but having a nicer neighborhood or something.

Not that the dichotomy works exactly that way, but adjusting gross salary of a senior software engineer by cost of living makes little sense since only part of her pay goes to cost of living.