United States Pay Zones

A big part of investing is finding ways to increase the amount of fresh cash you produce so that you have more to invest. A big problem with many of the social media influencers you see online, is that they make the majority of their passive income from ads and sponsorships. Someone with $10,000 to invest each month from YouTube ads can make a lot more mistakes and still have a portfolio that outperforms someone who only has $1,000 to invest each month.

Remote jobs are now commonplace and is a good way to take your skills elsewhere if you feel you are underpaid. The problem is that companies have tried to eliminate this salary arbitrage (living in a low cost area, but making a salary of a high cost area) by creating geographic pay zones for many remote roles. This fixes your salary to your place of physical residence and not the main business address of the company. Below is a general list of geographic pay zones so that you know what's considered high cost of living versus low cost of living.

Note: Depending on the company, you may find different names for the zones, but generally there will be at least three.

Zone 1 - Highest Cost of Living (Salary the Highest)

• San Francisco Bay Area

Zone 2 - High Cost of Living (Salary Next Highest Level, -10%)

• Boston, MA
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York / New Jersey / Connecticut (Tri-State metropolitan area)
• Sacramento, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Greater Seattle Area, WA
• Washington D.C.

Zone 3 - Lowest Cost of Living (Salary the Lowest, -15%)

• All other metropolitan areas and states not listed above