CONCHO,
Why is that surprising? $100K is entry level in the Bay area. Any degreed professional in their mid-30’s or older working in finance or high tech up there makes at least $150K. I know that just from my own company’s salary scale (which applies a double digit % salary differential adder based on the higher cost of labor up there. No adder for SD or OC).

My non-company friends who round out this decidedly un-scientific survey are very close friends, whom I trust. They’re a little older than me also, so I have the benefit of their counsel. Their salaries are really not that out of line. In one friend’s neighborhood in the East Bay, he mentioned entry level qualufying income to buy in his neighborhood (~$2M) is $500K. 4:1 ratio is a little high, but nothing like we’ve seen down here over the last few years. Bottom line: more high-paying jobs and less inventory in nice areas proportionally in the BA relative to LA and OC, and a huge disparity for SD.