Location Context: From Census to Salary Tiers
How we categorize regions by population density and cost of living.
This slide defines the two mechanisms we want to test: cost of living and population density. It gives the categories needed to interpret the salary differences that appear in later slides.
Why Density and COLA Matter for Data Practitioner Pay
High-density urban areas (Northeast, parts of West Coast) have elevated costs of living to support infrastructure and demand. Employers in those areas pay higher salaries, but purchasing power is compressed. Low-density regions have lower absolute salaries but also lower living costs, creating a tradeoff in real economic value.
Remote workers introduce a wildcard: they often command premium pay relative to their home location (since they access national-tier labor markets), yet have no fixed geography to reference for COLA or density.
This slide gives the conceptual setup for the story focus: salary differences are expected to come mainly from the combined effects of density and COLA, so we define those two forces before comparing pay across location types.
Location Categories
Urban High-COLA (Northeast, some West)
Density: 815 people/sq mi (Northeast)
COLA Index: 114–115
Examples: Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area
Highest nominal salaries, but real purchasing power is eaten by extreme housing and costs.
Suburban Medium-COLA (Southwest)
Density: 45 people/sq mi
COLA Index: 100
Examples: Phoenix, Albuquerque, Denver metro
Growing tech markets with moderate costs and emerging data hubs.
Distributed & Rural Low-COLA (Southeast, Midwest)
Density: 60–102 people/sq mi
COLA Index: 92–93
Examples: Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Austin, Midwest cities
Lowest cost of living with growing tech talent. Real purchasing power may exceed urban.
Remote (No Geography)
Density: N/A
COLA Index: N/A
Rationale: Remote workers negotiate with national/global rates, disconnected from local COLA. Often pay premium vs. office roles in the same company.
Bridge between pure market rates and geographic anchors.
Next: Salary by Location Type
The next slide shows average salaries clustered by location category, revealing the geographic premium (high-COLA premium vs. real purchasing power for low-COLA regions) and giving the first direct look at the story focus in grouped salary averages.