Why remote work is causing a massive shift in salaries around the country

If you're living somewhere in between New York City and San Francisco (both geographically and size-wise), you may see a massive shift in how you get paid — especially if you're a tech worker.

Writing to you from New York, I'm Jordan Parker Erb. Let's get into it.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Insider's app here.

1. A seismic shift is changing how Americans get paid. Geography has long played a role in how workers are compensated: If you lived in Dallas or Minneapolis, you'd never earn the kind of paychecks offered in big cities like San Francisco or New York. But now, that's changing.

• As companies continue to fill remote roles in towns far beyond their headquarters, white-collar salaries nationwide are getting tantalizingly close to those in major tech hubs.

• The phenomenon is strongest in tech, which has embraced remote work more than any other industry — and salaries at tech startups in Boston, Denver, and other cities are now within 10% of those in San Francisco.

• And in Washington, DC, where salaries used to be 15% lower than those in San Francisco, pay is now virtually on par with the Bay Area.

Welcome to the Great Salary Convergence.

In other news:

2. Elon Musk said his $44 billion Twitter takeover could still happen. Musk said that the deal could go ahead if the platform disclosed how it tracks fake accounts, and challenged Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to a public debate. Get the full rundown here.

3. The hot market for tech employees is ending, giving the power back to companies. For the average tech worker, the good times of multiple offers, big grants of restricted stock units, and generous merit raises, are likely over — sending the pendulum back to Big Tech firms like Meta and Google to set and reduce pay. What tech workers need to look out for.

4. A poll shows people's interest in superhero movies is dropping. Both Marvel and DC have suggested many more superhero films are on the way in the coming years — but new survey results show the public is growing fatigued. Why the results should worry Disney.