Josh,
How did the desirability proxy jump so much from 2002 – ? Traffic got worse, all SD schools are way more crowded because no one will pass a bond measure, and the water is more crowded than ever. SD didn’t become any more desirable than it was in 1989, 1999 or 2002. Biotech is a ray of hope, but not until the products the SD-based biotech companies produce generate billions of $$ in revenue (like Genentech and Amgen did way back when). Even lawyers make way less in SD than they do in LA or SF. Always have.

The bottom line is that outside of Qualcomm (who pays pretty well) SD lacks a major non-defense corporation that can drive higher regional pay.