A view from the low COL middle-of-the-country: Based on my salary, I should be paying about $3,000/month for rent with a max of $3500 and a minimum of $2500. Interestingly, I actually pay $1800 for a preposterously HUGE (2300 sq ft.) condo on the top floor of a building in the downtown of my new LCOL mid-western city. I have a freakin' concierge, a free movie theater and gym in the building, and climate-controlled reserved-spot basement parking. The condo itself has got granite everything, fireplace, jetted tub, a private atrium, and I'm sure luxuries I haven't even found yet. We have monthly wine and cheese parties hosted in the lounge and provided as part of our rent. I'm sure it's possible to get up to $3000 per month in rent in this area, but ... holy cow what would that look like? If I'm feeling lazy I can already send the concierge to pick stuff up for me. What does $3k get me? Daily sponge baths?
It took some solid work and probably a lot of luck to finally land a coastal city salary in the inexpensive mid-west. So this little calculator does give me some comfort, because at least I'm still frugal in comparison to "normal" and "saving to much" according to the internet, even if on this site I'm a profligate spendypants surfing on a wave of hedonic adaptation.