Salary Negotiation Range Calculator

Work out salary negotiation range instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Salary Negotiation Range Calculator

A negotiation range needs three numbers: a target derived from where your experience sits against the market median, an opening anchor above it to leave room to concede, and a walk-away floor below which the move is not worth making. Anchoring above target is what makes the target achievable.

Formulas

Target salary

Target = Market median x (1 + (Your percentile - 50) / 50 x Market spread %)

Opening ask

Anchor = Target x 1.12

Worked example

With the default values below, Salary Negotiation Range Calculator returns Target salary of $1,650,000.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Current salary: 1,200,000
Market median for the role: 1,500,000
Where your experience sits in the market: 70
Spread of the market range around the median: 25

Results

Target salary: $1,650,000.00
Opening ask (anchor): $1,848,000.00
Walk-away floor: $1,312,500.00
Uplift on current salary: 37.50%

Step by step

1Values used
2Target salary
3Opening ask
4Target salary= 1,650,000.00
5Opening ask (anchor)= 1,848,000.00
6Walk-away floor= 1,312,500.00
7Uplift on current salary= 37.50

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I give a number first?

If you have good market data, yes — anchoring works. If you do not, ask for their range first, because a low anchor is very hard to recover from.

What if they refuse to move on base?

Shift to total compensation: sign-on, equity, an early review date, or a title that repositions your next negotiation.