People will quibble with the exact trade-off in CoL and salary between SFBA and other locations. I don't think there is one general answer — you have to do the math for your specific situation to find out where you earn more money after expenses. I think in my situation, the pay minus expenses is definitely better where I live (Seattle) than it would be in SFBA. But I am a sample size of one and certainly other smart people have done the math and come to the opposite conclusion for their situation.

Keep in mind Federal graduated taxes don't have any relief for high CoL renters (and the tax benefit for mortgage-holders has been diminished somewhat in the latest tax reforms). Don't forget state income tax, too.