A new report has shown that tech workers’ willingness to work from home has changed indelibly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hired‘s State Of Salaries 2020, which combs hundreds of thousands of job offers and interviews, discovered that a third of tech talent would accept a wage drop if their employer made working from home permanent.
Fifty-three percent of respondents said that permanent working from home would make them “very likely” or “likely” to consider moving to a cheaper city – a move that could have long-lasting repercussions for the US’ largest tech hubs.
San Francisco is still the highest-paying city in which to live as a tech worker, according to the report. The Californian city’s $155,000 average salary places it number one in the country – ahead of New York City. Third-placed Seattle had the most modest salary increase of 3%, as tech salaries grew in every major market.
San Francisco’s 7% year-on-year rise makes it the US’ undisputed champion of tech earners – small surprise given the dense cluster of globally-renowned tech brands that have moved in since the turn of the century. Its average is far above the global $130,000 marker for tech workers. Smaller tech cities like Austin, TX and Toronto saw a 10% increase.
The report includes a poignant comparison between salaries in the US and UK—one of Europe’s tech capitals—with figures generally around twice as high in America.
Yet the report also shows a huge disparity between the salaries of white, and Black/Hispanic counterparts. Despite improvements on previous years, researchers found that Black candidates list preferred salaries around $9,000 less than whites.