Scribe
Legend
Great question about a living wage. No easy answer- not in the United States, and I am sure many other places.
The main issue is the massive geographic differences. There are places in the US where land (and housing) is cheap- beyond cheap. But there may not be much in the way of jobs. Or services. Or transportation if you don't have a vehicle.
On the other hand, there are places where you can have everything you want, and more- including high-paying jobs! But your cost of living will be much higher.
Then there's the whole federalism issue- there are substantial legal differences (including the type of assistance you might get) depending on your locality- cities and states can have very different programs. As one simple example, if you lose your job and are eligible for unemployment, you can get from approximately $230/week (Mississippi) to nearly $850 (Massachusetts)- and some states make everyone eligible, and easily, while other states make it nearly impossible to qualify.
And then- what does it take, for you? If you are a student at Rhode Island School of Design, and your money goes to wine, tuition, wine, rent, wine, art supplies, and more wine ... you're probably okay living on ramen for a few years in a tiny hellhole in Providence that even HP Lovecraft would look at and say, "Oh, no ... that apartment? That's cosmic horror."
But if you're raising three young kids ... maybe the all-ramen, all-the-time doesn't work so well. It's relative.
Then, of course, there's benefits- because the US ties health care to employment pretty strongly. Good benefits matter greatly to a lot of people. How much is taken out of your paycheck for those benefits also matters to a lot of people. Or, for that matter, even being eligible.
It's not an easy answer, other than to say that, for the most part, the consumer desire for "cheaper" has meant that people aren't paid enough.
IMO, YMMV, etc.
I hear you, thats again why I ran to the google machine and asked.
I pay a CRAPTON of taxes.
I live in what was previously an affordable area.
I live on a single stable income.
I am better off than most.
If $72K American in Seattle is too high, but $50K Canadian is 'average' then...I mean its as you say a difficult thing to pin down as it will vary wildly.
So to bring it back, whats the cost in Seattle? Whats 'too much to ask for', and whats 'enough to live on', and what is Paizo paying?
I'm going by Mark's Twitter feed, and if I was in any way looking for a stable, living wage, and looking to set up roots? And I read his tweets?
Literally 0% chance I would apply to work there.