How To Research Your Market Value So You Don’t Get Underpaid

You know that stomach-drop feeling when someone asks, “So, what are your salary expectations?” and your brain just… freezes?

If you wing that moment, you’re gambling with thousands of dollars of your future. Every. Single. Year.

So no, “I’ll just see what they offer” is not a strategy. It’s a donation.

Let’s fix that.

Stop Asking “What Do You Pay?” Ask “What Am I Worth?”

Here’s the thing I’ve learned after too many years watching hiring from the inside: companies are not trying to guess your market value, they’re trying to get you at the best ratio of impact-to-cost. They’ve got ranges. They’ve got budgets. They’re not just making it up.

You know who usually is making it up? The candidate.

People treat salary like a confession instead of a business decision. “How much should I ask?” turns into “What’s the lowest number I can say without sounding greedy?” which is exactly the wrong question.

The right question is: what is my market value salary for this role, in this location, with my experience, in this kind of company?

And you don’t answer that with vibes. You answer it with data.

How I Actually Research Salary (Not The Fluffy Version)

Let me walk you through how I’d research salary for real, the way I’d do it if my rent depended on it. Because it does.

There are three main data streams you need to combine:

Salary data tools and sites
Job postings with pay ranges
Real humans: networking, recruiters, and colleagues

You triangulate. You don’t trust any single source. Each one lies in its own special way, so the trick is to let their lies cancel each other out.

Step 1: Use salary data tools… but don’t worship them

If you type “research salary” into your browser and click the first thing that shows up, you’ll get numbers, sure, but they’re often averaged into oblivion.

Still useful, just not gospel.

Here’s how I use salary data tools without getting misled:

Search for the exact job title you’re seeing in postings, not your dream title. “Senior Software Engineer” is not the same as “Software Engineer II.”
Filter by location. “United States” as a filter is almost useless. San Francisco vs. Cleveland vs. remote is a different planet.
Look at at least 3 tools, not one. When they disagree, you pay attention.

Let’s say you’re a mid-level software engineer looking at roles in Austin, Texas.

You plug it into three different salary data tools and you see:

Tool A: 135k median base
Tool B: 120k–150k range
Tool C: 125k median, 110k–160k spread

So, do you just pick 140k and call it a day? No. That’s your first draft of reality.

I’d write down:

“Preliminary market value salary (base): 125k–150k in Austin for mid-level SWE.”

Then I go hunting for proof.

Step 2: Strip job postings for their salary secrets

Job ads are more honest than people think. Not in the buzzwords, those are fiction, but in the pay ranges.

Companies in a lot of regions are legally pushed toward posting pay bands now. Even when they’re not, more of them are doing it because candidates are finally fed up with black-box compensation.

So, here’s how I work job postings:

Search the exact title you care about, plus the city or “remote”.
Filter for full-time roles that look similar in scope.
Ignore obviously tiny startups for your baseline unless you specifically want that chaos.

Now, let’s do some practical examples.

Example 1: Software Engineer in Austin vs Remote

You’re a software engineer, 4–5 years experience, mostly backend, and you’re eyeing Austin and remote roles.

You check a bunch of postings and see ranges like:

Austin hybrid role: “$125,000–$155,000 base, plus bonus and equity”
Austin in-office role: “$115,000–$140,000 base”
Remote US role, big tech-ish: “$135,000–$175,000 base depending on location”
Remote US role, mid-size SaaS: “$120,000–$150,000 base”

Now compare that with the salary tools you checked earlier.

Salary tools said: roughly 120k–150k. Job ads are showing: roughly 115k–175k, with most clustering 125k–155k.

You can start to answer “how much should I ask?” with something that’s not just a guess.

If you’re solid, not a beginner, I’d personally target the top half of the realistic cluster. For Austin, that might mean saying:

Internal target range: 140k–155k for Austin roles
Aspirational anchor for negotiation: 155k–160k

For remote roles that adjust by location, I’d ask the recruiter what band you’re in based on your city, then still aim for the top half of that band.

You’re not saying “What’s the range?” so you can gracefully slide into the bottom. You want the range so you can avoid getting quietly lowballed.

Example 2: Nurse in Chicago vs Smaller City

Let’s switch to something that’s not tech.

You’re a registered nurse with 3 years of experience, and you’re comparing a big city like Chicago to a mid-size city in the Midwest.

Salary tools might show you:

Chicago RN: 80k median, 70k–95k common range
Mid-size city RN: 68k median, 60k–80k range

Not terrible, but too generic.

Now you search job postings:

Chicago area postings:

Hospital A: “$34–$47 per hour based on experience”
Hospital B: “$36–$50 per hour, shift differentials available”
Outpatient clinic: “$32–$40 per hour, day shift”

Mid-size city postings:

Hospital C: “$30–$38 per hour”
Long-term care facility: “$28–$35 per hour”

Convert those hourly rates to annual, assuming roughly 2,080 hours a year (yeah, real life has overtime, nights, burnout, all of it, but we’re getting a baseline):

Chicago: roughly 70k–104k
Mid-size: roughly 58k–79k

Now, notice the pattern. Salary tools said 70k–95k in Chicago, job ads are stretching that higher on the upper bound. That tells me the true market value salary for a 3-year RN in Chicago is probably closer to 80k–95k in most settings, with hospitals occasionally going over 100k for certain shifts or specialties.

So if I were that nurse, here’s what I’d do:

Chicago: target 85k–95k for regular shifts, more if nights or weekends are heavy
Mid-size city: target 70k–78k, but negotiate harder on differentials, PTO, and tuition support

And I’d absolutely ask recruiters and other nurses directly, “What’s your ballpark base these days?” Because nurses talk. A lot. Use that.

Example 3: Marketer in NYC vs Remote-First Startup

Now, the squishiest example. Marketing.

You’re a digital marketer with 5–6 years of experience, maybe performance or growth. You’re eyeing New York City and also some remote roles with startups that love to say “competitive pay” without meaning it.

Salary tools might spit out:

NYC Marketing Manager: 90k median, 75k–115k range
US Remote Marketing Manager: 80k median, 65k–105k range

Fine. Baseline. Now job postings:

NYC roles:

Agency: “$70,000–$95,000 base”
In-house e-commerce: “$95,000–$120,000 base plus bonus”
Fintech startup: “$100,000–$130,000, equity available”

Remote roles:

Remote SaaS: “$80,000–$105,000 base, US only”
Remote DTC brand: “$75,000–$95,000 base, experience-dependent”
Remote global role: “$60,000–$90,000 base, location-adjusted”

You can already feel the pattern.

NYC is basically saying: serious in-house roles will comfortably hit 100k+, while agencies and baby startups cluster lower.

Remote? There’s usually a haircut unless it’s a very well-funded company or they explicitly pay “US national” rates.

If I’m that marketer with solid experience and real results, my internal math would be:

NYC: I’m aiming 105k–120k, anchor at 120k–125k
Remote: I’m aiming 90k–105k for mid-market companies, 100k–115k for well-funded ones

And I’d be ready to back this up with specific outcome stories, because marketing is one of those fields where people will pay for revenue impact, not just pretty slide decks.

Where LinkedIn Fits In (No, It’s Not Just For “Networking”)

Let’s talk about LinkedIn, since everyone either underuses it or abuses it.

Here’s how I actually use LinkedIn to sharpen market value research:

Search for people who have the job you want, in the city you want.
Look at their experience level, company size, and industry.
Check if they’ve posted about pay, ranges, or job changes. Some people are surprisingly open.

Then I do something most people are too shy to try: I send a short, honest message.

Something like:

“Hey [Name], I’m looking at [Role Title] positions in [City / Remote] and I’m trying to sanity-check market salary ranges so I don’t underprice myself. You’re a bit ahead of me in your career, so I figured I’d ask someone who’s actually in it. For someone with around [X years] experience, what salary range feels realistic in your space right now?”

Not everyone replies. Enough do.

You’ll get responses like:

“I’d say aim for 130k+ for mid-level here.”
“Below 75k is lowball for this market.”
“At my company, this band is 90k–110k.”

Now you’re not just staring at salary tools. You’re hearing from people living inside those pay bands.

Combine that with what recruiters tell you when they slip and reveal the range, and your confidence shoots up.

How To Turn Data Into a Negotiation Range

Collecting salary data is cute. Using it in salary range negotiation is where the money is.

Here’s the mental model I use.

You need three numbers:

Your walk-away number: below this, the job is not worth it.
Your realistic target range: the amount that’s fair and backed by your research.
Your anchor number: the number you say first, at the upper end of your realistic range.

For that Austin software engineer:

Walk-away: 125k (you’ve seen enough postings and tools to know anything below this is low)
Target range: 140k–155k
Anchor: 155k–160k

For that Chicago nurse:

Walk-away: 75k (given experience and local rates)
Target range: 85k–95k
Anchor: 95k–100k, especially if shifts are brutal

For that NYC marketer:

Walk-away: 95k
Target range: 105k–120k
Anchor: 120k–125k

So when they ask, “What are your salary expectations?” you don’t mutter “I’m flexible” and hope for mercy.

You say something like:

“Based on my experience and what I’m seeing for similar roles in this market, I’m targeting a base in the 140 to 155 range.”

Simple. Calm. Data-backed.

If they push for where that comes from, you can mention:

“I’ve looked at several salary data tools for this title in this city.”
“I’ve compared ranges on recent job postings for similar roles.”
“I’ve sanity-checked with peers at comparable companies.”

You don’t have to show your spreadsheet, but you want them to feel you didn’t just pull a number out of your hat.

The Networking Piece You’re Probably Skipping

Let me be blunt: people who talk about pay make more money, on average, than people who treat salary like a dirty secret.

Recruiters, especially the decent ones, sit on piles of comp data. They know what different companies are paying this quarter, not last year. If you’re not using that, you’re choosing to be in the dark.

I’d message a recruiter and say:

“I’m seeing ranges all over the place for [Role] in [City / Remote]. What would you say is a realistic market range right now for someone with [X years] and [Y skills]?”

You’ll often get:

“For my clients, that’s about 110k–135k.”
“Senior titles don’t start below 150k in this market.”

Is every recruiter perfectly honest? No. But you’re not trusting one person. You’re averaging across tools, postings, LinkedIn, and recruiters.

That’s the whole trick. Triangulation.

Remote Roles: The Silent Location Penalty

Let’s talk remote for a second, because people romanticize it and then get blindsided.

Remote does not always mean “paid like San Francisco while you live in Kansas.” Sometimes it does. Often it doesn’t.

Companies usually fall into three buckets:

Pay by HQ city. Remote employees get SF or NYC-level pay regardless of where they live.
Pay by employee location. Live in a cheaper city, get a smaller number.
Vaguely “national bands” with internal tiers they don’t explain.

When you’re researching your market value for remote roles, you need to know which bucket you’re dealing with.

So ask directly:

“How are salary ranges structured for remote roles? Are they adjusted by location, or tied to a single national or HQ range?”

If they dodge, that’s information too.

Then compare that to your local on-site or hybrid market. If a remote job wants to pay you less than a local job in your city, the flexibility better be worth it to you, because you’re literally paying for it.

The Data Is There. The Courage Is The Hard Part.

Here’s the honest truth: researching salary, figuring out your market value, building a confident salary range for negotiation, none of that is actually hard.

It’s tedious. It’s annoying. But it’s not hard.

The hard part is saying a number out loud that feels slightly uncomfortable because it’s finally accurate.

So you can keep asking “How much should I ask?” like it’s a moral question, or you can treat it like what it is: a pricing problem.

You are allowed to price yourself according to the market.

You are not a charity.