Okay lets dig into some BLS data then!

Since you brought up Pittsburgh, one of the largest cities in Pennsylvania let's look at the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for Pennsylvania in 2024

• Web developers in Pennsylvania make a median annual salary of $92,930, and the 75th percentile make an annual salary of $117,000 which oh look is over 100k
• Network and Computer Systems Administrators make a median salary of $94,420 and the 75th percentile make an annual salary of $104,210 which again oh look is over 100k
• Database Administrators make a median annual salary of $105,100
• Data Scientists make a median annual salary of $107,450

Is that too tech heavy?

• Funeral home managers make a median annual salary of $100,080
• Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers make a median salary of $119,550
• Clinical and Counseling Psychologists make a median salary of $103,980
• Pharmacists make a median salary of $133,720

And because I listed the two largest cities in Wisconsin lets look at Wisconsin quickly as well:

• Web developers in Wisconsin make a median annual salary of $92,930, and the 75th percentile salary is $117,000 which oh look is over 100k
• Software Developers make a median annual salary of $114,030
• Computer Programmers make a median annual salary of $104,080

Too tech heavy?

• Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers make a media salary of $92,790 with a 75th percentile salary of $104,430
• Human Resources Managers make a median salary of $148,000 with a 10th percentile salary of $93,450 (so its not just super-high earners skewing the data, by the way the 90th percentile is $213,680)
• Veterinarians make a median salary of $118,030
• Pharmacists make a median salary of $141,090
• Air Traffic Controllers make only a median salary of $108,330 (which is shockingly low for how famously high-stress of a career that is!)

And lets just for the heck of it look at Montana!

• Sales Managers make a median salary of $138,210
• Software Developers make a median salary of $120,950
• Data Scientists make a median salary of $111,490

So my point still stands, looking at states with much lower cost of living and highly skilled professions are still highly compensated, many folks well above 100k/year

Oh and before you bring up the median salary for all occupations in these states being 60k (an amount firmly in the middle class that you can live comfortably off of in these states) the median salary in New York and California, states with famously unaffordable housing in their cities, the median salaries are only $80k and good luck getting a house in these cities at that salary!