One of Dan Harvey’s first jobs, as head of SolarCity’s hiring efforts in Buffalo, will be to convince a cadre of 100 to 200 engineers to come work at the company’s solar panel factory in Buffalo.

A natural starting place for that hunt is in the Silicon Valley, where engineers with experience in semiconductor and solar technology are plentiful.

But why would anyone give up the excitement of a technology hotbed to come to a gritty industrial city known for its snowy winters?

Harvey thinks he just might get their attention by explaining how much further their money will go in the Buffalo Niagara region.

New data from the federal government shows just what Harvey means.

Compared with the Silicon Valley, a dollar in the Buffalo Niagara region goes about 27 percent further – and that price disparity is a great equalizer that more than overcomes the lower incomes here.

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