[PhiKapMom]

That rate is for Oklahoma. The D.C. area has locality pay as does the West Coast which is added on to base pay. It is a lot cheaper living out here.

For Oklahoma, that is way above the average salary.

[Miss Marple]

Fox News at the half hour just passed went with this story, almost verbatim. Apparently they are getting a lot of their wire copy from AP.

[CobaltBlue]

>>For Oklahoma, that is way above the average salary.<<

We are originally from Louisiana, so we are well aware of the dichotomy between costs of living here vs. where we are from.

The cost of living here is one of the highest in the entire country.

[CobaltBlue]

Here is a calculator that calculates that to live in the DC metro area, you need to make almost twice as much as it takes to live in the Houston area:
http://www.westurealestate.com/costofliving.htm

Yes, Manhattan and San Francisco are even more expensive. But they don't have the population of federal workers that exists in the DC metro area.