Ah yes, I totally forgot the non-EU ones.

Zurich IME is more in line with Californian salaries though.

You can't compare Zurich with California. According to Wikipedia, California is 10 times as big as Switzerland.

Rent is usually the biggest part of expenses and the prices are crazier in the SV than in Zurich (the city).

Maybe you were not referring to the SV, but then you have places 30min away (by train) from Zurich that are also way cheaper.