While your comment on tax rates is correct, you forget the cost of living. Austin is more than 30% cheaper than San Francisco, including housing. You can give yourself a massive pay raise just by moving from SF to Austin, even with similar tax rates. Just about everything is cheaper from food, restaurants, groceries, gasoline, housing, rent, utilities, preschool (60% cheaper in Austin!), etc. You can check for yourself here: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&country2=United+States&city1=San+Francisco%2C+CA&city2=Austin%2C+TX

People pay a very high premium to live in a place like California. It’s not just about taxes.