I fully agree with the principle, but note that these numbers indicate the market rate for salary, not necessarily cost of living. The two are correlated but not the same. Here is a table that lists cost of living as calculated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:
For example, note that Honolulu has a salary coefficient of 92, but it's actually one of the most expensive places in the country to live. It has a cost of living coefficent of 171.
Another thing is that in addition to cost of living, one must consider state taxes, which you can calculate here:
http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/bestcities_sort/index.php?sor...
For example, note that Honolulu has a salary coefficient of 92, but it's actually one of the most expensive places in the country to live. It has a cost of living coefficent of 171.
Another thing is that in addition to cost of living, one must consider state taxes, which you can calculate here:
http://letsrebuildit.com/index.php?option=com_jumi&filei...
WA, NV, TX, FL, and IL have very low state taxes (for me), whereas DC, CA, HI, NC, and NY have high state taxes.