Am I Underpaid? Calculate Your Market Pay Gap
Are you being underpaid for your role?
Am I Underpaid? Calculator
Salary vs Market Rate · 10-Year Gap · Negotiation Scenarios · Pay Factors
Results update in real time. Market estimates are modeled — cross-reference with Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, or BLS data.
Disclaimer: Market estimates are modeled approximations based on seniority, industry, and cost-of-living multipliers applied to a $60k national baseline. Cross-reference with Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, LinkedIn Salary, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics for precise data before negotiating.
Results are estimates only and do not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
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Most people have no idea how their salary compares to market rate — and that uncertainty costs them tens of thousands of dollars in wages they never asked for. This calculator takes your current salary, years of experience, and location cost-of-living tier to compute your estimated pay gap: the difference between what you earn and what the market pays for your role and experience level. The tool shows you approximate 25th, 50th (median), and 75th percentile compensation for your experience band, your position within that range, and the annual dollar gap between your current pay and median. It also estimates the lifetime earnings impact of the gap if it compounds over a 10-year period — a $15,000/year underpayment translates to $150,000+ in missed earnings over a decade, before factoring in the compounding effect on raises and retirement contributions. The calculator doesn't replace actual market research — salary databases like levels.fyi, Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, and the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook provide role-specific data. But it gives you a grounded starting point and the confidence framework for whether a compensation conversation is warranted. Research consistently shows that people who ask for raises get them at far higher rates than those who wait to be noticed.
- →Suspecting you're underpaid but want a data-backed starting point
- →Preparing for a salary negotiation or annual review
- →Evaluating a job offer against your current compensation
- →Deciding whether a counter-offer from your current employer is fair
- →Calculating the lifetime financial impact of a salary gap
Jordan is a software engineer with 5 years of experience in Austin, TX earning $115,000. The calculator estimates median compensation for a mid-level engineer in a mid-cost city: $130,000–145,000. Jordan's pay gap: $15,000–30,000/year. Over 10 years at the same gap (conservative — it compounds with each raise cycle): $180,000–$360,000 in missed earnings. Jordan researches Glassdoor, levels.fyi, and LinkedIn Salary, gets 3 competing offers averaging $142,000, and requests $138,000 from their current employer. They get $132,000 — a $17,000 raise.
What are the best resources for actual market salary data?
levels.fyi (tech roles, extremely detailed), Glassdoor (broad coverage, company-specific), LinkedIn Salary (large sample sizes), Payscale (good for non-tech roles), the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (government data, reliable but lags market), Radford/Mercer surveys (if your company uses them), and professional association salary surveys in your field. Use 3+ sources and weight recent data more heavily — markets move fast.
When is the right time to ask for a raise?
The highest-probability times: after a major win or project completion (while your value is top of mind), during annual review cycles (when budget is already allocated for raises), and when you have competing offers (the only time many employers move quickly). The worst times: immediately after a layoff at your company, during a hiring freeze, or as your first action in a new role.
How do I negotiate without risking my job?
The risk is almost always overestimated. Employers almost never rescind offers or fire employees for asking for more compensation professionally. The professional approach: 'I've researched market compensation for my role and experience in this market and found that the median is [X]. Given [specific accomplishments], I'd like to discuss bringing my compensation closer to market rate.' That framing is professional, data-backed, and almost never goes badly.
Should I accept a counter-offer from my current employer?
Studies suggest 50–80% of people who accept counter-offers leave within 12–18 months anyway — either the underlying reasons they looked (management, growth ceiling, culture) don't change, or the employer now sees them as a flight risk and makes decisions accordingly. A counter-offer is worth accepting only if the salary gap was the primary reason for looking. If you were looking for growth, culture, or leadership change, the counter-offer doesn't solve the problem.