Agreed, that bestplaces COLA calculator is bizarre. On one hand I think it's great that it breaks down relative costs by area - like you say, it's clear the difference in cost between Spokane and Seattle is almost entirely due to housing.
But then it fails to take into account the percentage of income that actually goes towards housing. If you make 200k and move to a place where the primary difference is housing costs (say 2x housing costs), the adjustment should be up to about 250k (assuming housing ~25% of income), not 400k.
But then it fails to take into account the percentage of income that actually goes towards housing. If you make 200k and move to a place where the primary difference is housing costs (say 2x housing costs), the adjustment should be up to about 250k (assuming housing ~25% of income), not 400k.