$80k is a substantial amount of money in, say, Houston (4th most populous city in the US) or Phoenix (6th most populous city in the US).

SF's COL is 51% higher than Houston (ie, $80k in Houston ~ $121k in SF), and 73% higher than Phoenix ($80k in Phoenix ~ $138k in SF).

Factor in additional earnings potential for multi-earner households and $80k for a single earner can be quite a lot in the right "major metro area".