> Sure, but the cost of living there is significantly higher as well.

The US is huge though, and the cost of living is astronomically lower outside of those big tech hub cities. I live in a tiny town in the midwest with a big house and a big yard that we bought for $89k USD in 2016[†]. I'm able to support myself and my wife comfortably on just my (self-employed) SWE salary.

[†] Real estate inflation index for our area says the house would have cost us around $130-$150k USD in 2026.