Is My Salary Fair for My Area? A 3-Step Check

Step 1: Pull 3 Benchmarks

One number can be wrong. Three numbers show a pattern. Collect these for your exact role and level.

Government wage data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wages by occupation and metro area in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program. It is the least biased source, but it lags by about a year.

Job postings with pay ranges. Colorado, California, Washington and New York, among other places, require employers to post a range. Search for 5 postings with your title and level. Ignore the top and bottom ends and note the middle.

People in your field. Ask a recruiter or 2 peers at other companies what the role pays. Ask for a range, not an exact salary.

Take the middle of the 3 numbers. That is your market figure. For a quick first pass, the Salary Checker gives a range by title and years of experience.

Step 2: Adjust for Your Area

A benchmark from another city does not transfer. Scale it by the cost of living index of each place. The index sets the national average at 100. Milwaukee sits at 95 and Chicago at 107.

The formula is salary times the new city's index, divided by the old city's index. A $80,000 Chicago benchmark becomes $80,000 × 95 ÷ 107 = $71,028 in Milwaukee.

The same math works for a move. Here is what a worker earning $72,000 in Milwaukee needs elsewhere to hold the same standard of living.

Treat this as a ceiling on the adjustment, not a rule. Employers pay for the local labor market as well as living costs, so real pay gaps between cities often differ from the cost gap. The band in step 3 absorbs that difference. The Cost of Living Calculator covers 50 cities.

Step 3: Apply the 10% Band

Pay for the same role varies by employer, so no one is paid the market figure to the dollar. A fair salary sits within 10% of it. With a Milwaukee market figure of $71,028, the fair range is $63,925 to $78,131.

$72,000: inside the range. You are paid fairly for the area.

$60,000: below the range by $3,925. Against the market figure the gap is $11,028. This worker is likely underpaid.

Below the band means act. Inside it means your pay is fair, even if a number from a bigger city looked higher. Above it means you are well paid and your risk is a pay freeze, not a gap.

What a Gap Costs Over Time

A gap does not stay small. Raises are a percent of base pay, so a low base shrinks every raise. The table assumes the gap stays the same share of your pay and you get 3% raises.

The worker at $60,000 has a gap of $11,028. Left alone, that is $126,424 over 10 years before tax. Switching employers resets the base, which is why a job change often closes a gap that annual raises cannot.

If You Are Below the Band

1. Write down your 3 benchmarks. Bring the middle figure and the sources. A range from 3 sources is harder to dismiss than one screenshot.

2. Ask for the market figure, not a percentage. Name the number and tie it to your results from the past year. The salary negotiation guide has the script.

3. Set a deadline. If the answer is no, check what similar roles pay at other employers. A real offer is the strongest benchmark you can get.

Before you compare, check your pay on the right basis. Weekly earnings by age are in average salary by age, and the true hourly wage article shows what you earn per hour after commute and unpaid time.

What This Check Leaves Out

Salary is one part of pay. Bonus, equity, health premiums, retirement match and remote work all change the total. Compare total compensation when you can. The cost of living indexes are from 2024 and move slowly, but they are not live figures.