How Wide Is a Salary Range? (2026)
how wide the median posted tech salary range is, as a percent of its lower bound (a “$120K–$165K” shape)
20.8%–60%
middle 50% of band widths
93%
p90 — the widest tenth nearly doubles
3.2%
list a single number, not a range
The median US tech salary range spans 37.3% of its lower bound — a “$120K–$165K” shape — and 1 in 10 nearly doubles (p90 93%). Paste any posted band below to decode what its width really signals.
A band is the pay range shown to candidates (posted or estimated) — width is negotiation intel, not proof of anything by itself.
Key findings
- The median posted band spans 37.3% of its lower bound; the middle 50% run 20.8%–60%.
- The widest tenth (p90) spans 93% — nearly doubling from low to high.
- Only 3.2% of postings list a single number instead of a range.
The distribution of band widths
Every dot is the median band width for one seniority mix; the brand dot marks the corpus median. The dashed ticks are the real quartiles. Most postings cluster in the “typical” zone — but a long right tail reaches the red-flag band where the top of the range nearly doubles the bottom.
Decode a salary range
Paste the band you were shown — in an offer, a posting, or a recruiter email. The decoder computes its width, drops it onto the real distribution, and tells you whether it is narrow, typical, wide, or a red flag.
How to read band width
Range width — how far the top of a posted band sits above the bottom — is one of the most under-used signals a job seeker has. We measure it as a percent of the lower bound, so a “$120K–$180K” posting is a 50% band. Across the corpus the median is 37.3%: the typical employer is leaving themselves a meaningful but not enormous spread. The quartiles tell the rest of the story — a quarter of postings are tighter than 20.8%, a quarter are wider than 60%, and the widest tenth blow past 93%, where the high number is nearly double the low.
What does width actually mean? A narrow band signals an employer who has decided the level and the number; you have less room to push up, but far less risk of a bait-and-switch where the “up to $180K” quietly becomes $130K. A very wide band — the red-flag zone above 93% — usually means the opposite: the level isn’t really settled, and one posting is standing in for two or three different roles. That is not automatically bad, but it is a reason to ask, before you invest in interviews, exactly which level you are being considered for and what the top of the band requires. Width is leverage intel, not a verdict: it tells you how much of the negotiation is still open.
One reassurance for anyone who has stared at a single-number posting and felt boxed in: those are rare. Just 3.2% of priced postings list one number instead of a range, so in almost every case there is a band — and therefore room — even if only one figure made it into the listing. Pair this with your percentile for the role and you can frame an ask grounded in the real distribution rather than a single number.
Width by seniority mix
Bands widen when a single posting tries to cover several levels at once. Postings tagged with multiple seniority levels carry the widest ranges; tight single-level postings sit at the bottom.
The numbers
37.3%
median posted range width (% of lower bound)
93%
p90 width — the widest tenth nearly doubles
20.8%–60%
middle 50% of band widths (p25–p75)
3.2%
of postings list a single number, not a range
How this was measured (n=204,223)
Sample: 204,223 postings · Window: 2026-03-20 – 2026-06-09
Method
- Width = (high − low) / low for each posting that advertises a pay range, as a percent of the lower bound.
- Distribution quartiles (p25/median/p75/p90) computed across priced postings with a two-sided range.
- Decoder thresholds (narrow <15%, typical 15–50%, wide 50–90%, red-flag >90%) are verified against those quartiles.
Limitations
- A band is the market pay range shown to candidates (posted or estimated by the source platform), not employer-disclosed pay.
- Width is a behavioral signal, not proof of intent; a wide band is a reason to ask, not an accusation.
- Corpus is US tech & professional roles, not all US jobs.
Salary figures are platform-estimated posted ranges (posted or estimated), not employer disclosure. Corpus is tech & professional roles.