OK, it may cost a million for an actual shack. But, even with the area’s outrageous housing costs, Silicon Valley workers still have it best.

That’s according to the latest report from the Pew Research Center, which examined average wages after factoring in cost-of-living adjustment.

The study in particular looked at third-quarter wage data by metro area, and then adjusted them by a 2013 survey. (In both cases, that’s the freshest data available by region.)

In first place was California’s San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area, which covers tech-dominated Silicon Valley, despite having the third-highest cost of living in the country. In third place was San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward.

Silicon Valley proximity, however, doesn’t pay off for residents of Santa Cruz, who get stuck with the 357th worst out of 381 metro area adjusted paycheck.

In perhaps a surprising second was the California-Lexington Park section of Maryland, which combines Chesapeake Bay living with the ability to commute to Washington, D.C., for those with enough patience to be stuck in traffic on a bridge.

Others on the top-10 best adjusted pay list were research hot spots like the Research Triangle in North Carolina and Boston.

The worst place to live for adjusted pay was Ocean City, N.J., which combines meager wages with a high cost of living. Myrtle Beach, home to an array of golf courses and resorts, was the fourth worst.