Many workers face a difficult paradox: Tech jobs pay well but areas like Silicon Valley can be prohibitively expensive. In 2016, SmartAsset.com found that you'd need to make at least $216,129 a year to afford the rent on an average two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco.
Earlier this year, engineers at Facebook making between $100,000 and $700,000 a year asked CEO Mark Zuckerberg if the company would help subsidize their rent. They felt that they were unable to make ends meet in Silicon Valley on their six-figure salaries alone.
Job site Indeed measured the average tech salary in the 25 biggest metro areas and adjusted their calculations based on cost of living to find the cities where a tech salary goes the furthest.
Check out where these sky-high salaries pay off the most:
10. Pheonix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona
Average salary adjusted for cost of living: $99,910
Average salary unadjusted: $97,113
9. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan
Average salary adjusted for cost of living: $100,713
Average salary unadjusted: $97,289
8. Raleigh, North Carolina
Average salary adjusted for cost of living: $100,748
Average salary unadjusted: $96,516
7. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
Average salary adjusted for cost of living: $101,649
Average salary unadjusted: $101,649
6. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California
Average salary adjusted for cost of living: $102,286
Average salary unadjusted: $126,937
5. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington
Average salary adjusted for cost of living: $102,730
Average salary unadjusted: $112,387
4. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California
Average salary adjusted for cost of living: $102,734
Average salary unadjusted: $125,233
3. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
Average salary adjusted for cost of living: $103,914
Average salary unadjusted: $103,394
2. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia
Average salary adjusted for cost of living: $104,454
Average salary unadjusted: $103,380
1. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina/South Carolina
Average salary adjusted for cost of living: $108,178
Average salary unadjusted: $101,147
The Charlotte metro area topped the list as the place where tech salaries go the furthest. The average tech salary in Charlotte is $101,147, but when adjusted for cost of living, Charlotte tech workers earn closer to $108,178 a year.
Tech workers in San Franciso and Silicon Valley find that their salaries do not go quite as far. Even though the average annual salary for a tech worker in the San Francisco metro area is $125,233, a soaring cost of living means that San Franciscan techies have closer to $102,734 to spend.
The area with the highest unadjusted annual salary is San Jose, where tech workers earn $126,937 on average. This pricey part of Silicon Valley has such a high cost of living that it only ranked sixth on the list.
One tech worker told The Guardian that even though her family brings in over $1 million a year, the cost of living in Silicon Valley makes it impossible to buy a home: "We make over one million between us, but we can't afford a house," she said. "The American dream is not working out here."
Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook
Don't miss:
The 15 cities where teacher salaries go the furthest
10 great companies for employees who love challenging work
How to get a billionaire to give you money, according to Bill Gates
