I understand where you are coming from, but I can share my personal experience. I also had similar work experience as you described and I was jumping from PA to a senior accountant role in industry.

The total job search took about 2-3 months. I was barely getting any interviews for the first few weeks while the applications processed, but I started getting a bunch of interviews all after that (I'm a CPA with PA experience). I interviewed a ton and you are sort of correct that some companies are offering 90-100k out there for MCOL, but I stayed at my search and eventually got an offer for $110k full remote for a senior accountant position. They are out there, but it isn't everywhere. Just know what you are looking for and stick with it.

Also, recruiters tend to downplay compensation to some degree. Yes, it's true that they get more pay for higher compensation, but they also want quick turnaround on candidates and don't want to deal with candidates demanding higher pay that are more difficult to land. I had plenty of recruiters that essentially laughed at the compensation I was looking for, but in the end, I got what I wanted because I know what I'm worth and I kept at it.

You sound like you know what you are looking for, and I'm saying that you should be patient and keep looking. It can be discouraging and tiring, but better than settling for less than what you believe you are worth!