Salary Benchmark Calculator
Where your salary sits against the range for your role, with the gap to the midpoint.
Salaries are usually managed as a range rather than a number. Knowing where you sit in the range, and how far the midpoint is, is what turns a general feeling of being underpaid into a specific ask.
Enter your salary and the range for the role, with the percentile points if you have them, and this calculator shows your position, the gap to the midpoint and what closing it would be worth.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Your salary, Range minimum, Range maximum, Target position in the range, Effective tax rate, Years in the role
- What you get
- Your position in the range, Gap to the midpoint, Salary at your target position, Gap to the target position, Monthly value of the midpoint gap after tax
- Formula shown
- Yes - every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only - always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Salary Benchmark Calculator
- 1 Enter Your salary
- 2 Enter Range minimum
- 3 Enter Range maximum
- 4 Enter Target position in the range - The midpoint is 50. Most employers aim for 75 to 90 for an experienced performer.
- 5 Enter Effective tax rate
- 6 Enter Years in the role (years)
- 7 Press Calculate. You get Your position in the range, Gap to the midpoint, Salary at your target position, Gap to the target position, Monthly value of the midpoint gap after tax, and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 8 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result - that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
$58,000 in a $50,000 to $76,000 range
A salary in the lower half of the band, measured against the midpoint and a 75th percentile target.
You enter
- Your salary
- $58,000.00
- Range minimum
- $50,000.00
- Range maximum
- $76,000.00
- Target position in the range
- 75%
- Effective tax rate
- 28%
- Years in the role
- 4 years
You get
- Your position in the range
- 30.8%
- Gap to the midpoint
- $5,000.00
- Salary at your target position
- $69,500.00
- Gap to the target position
- $11,500.00
- Monthly value of the midpoint gap after tax
- $300.00
The midpoint is $63,000.00, so a salary of $58,000.00 sits at 30.8% of the range and $5,000.00 below the midpoint. That gap is 8.6% of salary and worth $300.00 a month after tax at 28%. The 75th percentile target is $69,500.00, so the gap to the target is $11,500.00, and there is $13,000.00 of range above the midpoint. The position is 44.2 points below the target the calculator was set to.
$92,000 in a $70,000 to $110,000 range
A salary above the midpoint, measured against a 90th percentile target.
You enter
- Your salary
- $92,000.00
- Range minimum
- $70,000.00
- Range maximum
- $110,000.00
- Target position in the range
- 90%
- Effective tax rate
- 40%
- Years in the role
- 1 years
You get
- Your position in the range
- 55.0%
- Gap to the midpoint
- -$2,000.00
- Salary at your target position
- $106,000.00
- Gap to the target position
- $14,000.00
- Monthly value of the midpoint gap after tax
- $0.00
The midpoint is $90,000.00 and the salary is $92,000.00, so the position is 55.0% of the range and the midpoint gap is minus $2,000.00, which the calculator reports as a monthly value of $0.00. The 90th percentile target is $106,000.00, leaving a gap of $14,000.00 to aim at, and there is $20,000.00 of range above the midpoint. Being above the midpoint removes the midpoint argument but not the target one.
Guides that go with it
How Much of Your Salary Should Go to Rent?
You can work out a defensible rent ceiling in about fifteen minutes with nothing more than your payslip and a calculator. By the end of this guide you will know your gross and take-home pay, the rent…
How Much Does It Cost to Drive 100 Miles?
A hundred miles is a nice round trip to price out: one weekend outing, one leg of a longer journey, one week of commuting. By the end of this guide you will be able to work out your own cost for that…
How Much Can You Save by Paying Off Debt Early?
Paying extra toward a loan feels good. But how much does it actually save? In about ten minutes, you can work out the real number for your own debt: how many months you would cut, how much interest yo…
Frequently asked questions
What does the position in the range actually measure?
It is where your salary sits between the minimum and the maximum: your salary minus the minimum, divided by the spread of the range, as a percentage. A salary of $58,000 in a $50,000 to $76,000 range sits at 30.8%, which is in the lower third of the band.
The percentage is only as meaningful as the range. If the range was built for a different level, location or set of duties, the figure is precise but tells you nothing useful, so find out what the range was built from before quoting it in a conversation.
Why does the midpoint matter more than the minimum?
The midpoint is the salary at which the employer believes the role is paid properly for a fully competent performer. Being below it is the usual basis for asking for more; being above it is a reason for the employer to resist. The gap to the midpoint line gives the distance in money, and the percentage expresses it against your own salary.
In the first example the gap is $5,000, or 8.6% of salary, worth $300 a month after tax at 28%. A monthly figure is usually easier to argue with than an annual one, because it is the size of the change the person on the other side of the table is approving.
What is the target position for?
It turns the range into the salary that would put you where you want to be. At the 75th percentile of a $50,000 to $76,000 range the target is $69,500; at the 90th percentile of a $70,000 to $110,000 range it is $106,000. The gap to that target is the number you would be asking for.
Employers often aim experienced performers at the upper half of the range, so a target above the midpoint is ordinary. If the target comes out above the maximum, the range rather than your salary is the constraint, and the conversation is about the range.
Does a salary above the midpoint mean there is nothing left to ask for?
No, but the argument changes. In the second example the salary is $2,000 above a $90,000 midpoint, so the midpoint gap is negative and the monthly value of closing it is zero. The gap to the 90th percentile target of $106,000 is still $14,000, and there is $20,000 of range above the midpoint.
Above the midpoint the case rests on performance, scope, market data and whether the range itself has moved since it was set. Ranges are usually reviewed on a cycle, so one that has not been refreshed can sit below what the market now pays.