First, how many programmers, even in the Bay Area, have <i>base salaries</i> of $175k and higher? I&#x27;d wager not very many at all. You&#x27;ll frequently see total compensation packages quoted in that range and higher, but those include various forms of deferred payment that are not guaranteed (like unvested stock options, whose value is often measured in a fairly unreliable way).<p>Second, one&#x27;s cash salary is the primary determining factor in how much house one can &quot;afford&quot; (and I use quotes because I think there&#x27;s a vast gap between what a bank tells you you can afford and what you actually can afford, but that&#x27;s a different discussion).<p>If you just use the 3x rule of thumb, the $100k programmer can only afford a $300k house and the $175k doctor can afford a $525k house. But of course in SF people more often use the 5x rule of thumb, so the programmer could &quot;afford&quot; a $500k house and the doctor an $875k house.<p>Don&#x27;t forget also that there are many doctors who make vastly more than $175k in salary. $300k+ salaries are not all that uncommon among specialists. Indeed, $284k is the average for specialists: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.medscape.com&#x2F;features&#x2F;slideshow&#x2F;compensation&#x2F;2015&#x2F;public&#x2F;overview#page=2" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.medscape.com&#x2F;features&#x2F;slideshow&#x2F;compensation&#x2F;2015...</a>