Passionless devs exist in droves, but I've never met a dev who didn't enjoy the salary. It's not far fetched at all to say that an individual working on something they care about has different incentives than an employee earning their pay.
You haven't worked outside specific areas of the states, eh? Pay here in Canada is nothing extraordinary.
I would say that any career that essentially guarantees above average pay compared to your age cohort for your entire career without the need for a degree is a rather extraordinary industry.