In this article
Before you start
The whole arc from offer to counter is in the salary negotiation guide; the first phone call has its own page on recruiter-screen compensation questions. This page covers the question wherever else it arrives.
Why interviewers ask this
An interviewer asks about expected pay because a number said early can end a process or set its ceiling, and neither side wants to learn that after five rounds. The figure you say first also becomes the reference point for everything after it. An anchor is the first number said in a negotiation, which pulls later numbers toward it. Galinsky and Mussweiler (2001) studied first offers as anchors in negotiation. The question also tests preparation: whether you know what the role pays, can say a figure without apology and can keep talking about fit.
A weak answer names one number against a range you have never seen, or refuses to discuss pay. A strong answer shows research, states a range, and asks a question that keeps the conversation moving. The question comes in many wordings: expectations, requirements, desired salary, target compensation.
Salary expectations from first principles
- Salary expectation
- A salary expectation is the pay you tell an employer you want for a role, stated as a single figure or a range, and it is the first number in the negotiation that follows.
- Market range
- A market range is the span of pay that employers actually offer for a given role, level and location, found from public pay data, posted ranges and people in similar jobs.
In plain words
A salary question is like a buyer at your stall asking the price of a rug before saying what they would pay. Name a low price and the buyer agrees at once. You never learn they would have paid more. Refuse to name any price and the sale stalls. The sensible move is to know what similar rugs sell for. Ask what the buyer has budgeted.
Then name a price whose lowest point you would be glad to take. The analogy breaks in one place. Other stalls show their prices openly, but an employer's budget may stay hidden until you ask. Stated precisely: research the market range, ask for the employer's range, then say your own range with the target at the bottom. End with a question.
Step 1: Know your number before the question arrives
Your number comes from the market range for your role, level and location, not your current pay. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median annual pay for software developers was 135,980 US dollars in May 2025, with the lowest-paid tenth earning under 82,460 and the highest-paid tenth over 214,670 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, page updated 27 August 2026).
The top figure is 2.6 times the bottom one.1 These wages are close to base pay: the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) programme counts base rates, commissions and incentive pay but excludes stock, year-end and non-production bonuses and profit-sharing (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS questions and answers, read 24 October 2026), so total compensation needs posted ranges and level data on top.
One occupation spans all levels and places, so a national median is a starting point, not your answer. Narrow it by level, city and similar posted jobs. Then fix a walk-away number, a target and a stretch (the top of your range). What you now know: the number you say comes from the market.
Step 2: Ask for the range, or find it before you are asked
A salary question is easiest to answer when you already hold the employer's range, and more places now require employers to show it. A May 2026 law-firm note says Virginia's pay-transparency law and salary-history ban take effect on 1 July 2026 and require posted jobs to state the wage or range, that Maine's range-posting law takes effect on 29 July 2026, and that Delaware's takes effect in September 2027 for employers with more than 25 workers (Foley and Lardner, 18 May 2026). If the posting shows a range, quote it back.
If it does not, ask once: "Could you share the range budgeted for this role and level?" Asking is a normal request, and the reply, even a refusal, tells you what you are dealing with. What you now know: the first reply to an expectations question is often a question, and the law in more places makes the range easier to find.
Step 3: Say the number, then hand the turn back
If you must name a figure, state a range with your target at the bottom, and end with a question. A range reads as more flexible than a single demand: the Harvard Program on Negotiation (3 March 2026) reports that a range with your target at the bottom works best when its top is 5% to 20% above that target, and that ranges lose effect when too wide or when the bottom is extreme.
A credible first offer anchors the deal in the opener's favour, which is why Step 1 comes first (Galinsky and Mussweiler, 2001; Harvard Program on Negotiation, 2026). Asking first is safer when you lack data for this level; with solid data, naming a researched range first is defensible.
The sentence that follows the number carries the weight: "That is the range I would be looking at for total compensation, with the mix open. How does that compare with what you have in mind?" What you now know: the number is a range with your target as its bottom, and the last words are a question.
Step-by-step description
- Market range, not current pay.
- Check the posting, then ask once.
- Target at the bottom, then a question.
- Your number comes from the market range for your role, level and location, not from your current pay.
- The first reply to an expectations question is often a request for the employer's range.
- If you must name a figure, state a range with your target at the bottom and end with a question.
How wide should the range be?
The range should be wide enough to look flexible and narrow enough to look serious. For illustration, take the national median as your researched figure, 135,980 US dollars. A top 5% above it is 142,779, 10% above is 149,578 and 20% above is 163,176.1 The bottom never moves: it is the number you would be glad to receive. Choose the width by how much room you honestly have. A role with a clear band fits a narrow range, and a role whose level is still open fits a wider one.
| Fact | Value (US dollars a year) |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile pay, software developers, May 2025 | 82,460 |
| Median pay, May 2025 | 135,980 |
| 90th percentile pay, May 2025 | 214,670 |
| Top of range, 5% above the median | 142,779 |
| Top of range, 10% above the median | 149,578 |
| Top of range, 20% above the median | 163,176 |
Text description of the diagram
- National pay for software developers spans 82,460 to 214,670 US dollars a year from the 10th to the 90th percentile.
- Each candidate range starts at the median, 135,980, and its top is 142,779, 149,578 or 163,176.
Each candidate range starts at the median, 135,980, and its top is 142,779, 149,578 or 163,176. The figures are an illustration in one occupation, and the 136 to 150 thousand in the model answer below is illustrative base pay, not a real offer. Use your own researched number, and check it against the posted range and your level before you say it.
When is it too early to name a number?
It is too early when you do not yet know the role's level or scope, because the level decides which range applies. Early in a process, say you would like to understand the level and responsibilities first, and ask for the range. Name a number once you know what the role is and the interviewer asks twice. If a form forces a figure before that, give a range or a placeholder and say you want to discuss the whole package on the call. Waiting costs you the first anchor, which the research above says favours whoever sets it. Naming a number before you hold the facts risks anchoring too low, so wait only while you lack level data.
Knowing it is half the job. Saying it is the other half.
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Start Free Trial →The Staff-level answer
What are your salary expectations?
Before I give a number, could you share the range budgeted for this role and level? I want to compare like with like. If it helps to have mine, I have looked at similar roles in this market, and for base pay at this level I would be looking at 136 to 150 thousand, with bonus and equity on top and the mix open to discussion. I care more about the fit and the scope than the last few percent. How does that compare with the range you have in mind?
What makes it Staff-level: it asks before it answers, it states a researched range with the target at the bottom, it labels the figure as base pay and keeps bonus and equity in the talk, and its last sentence hands the turn back to the interviewer.
The rubric
| Dimension | Weak answer | Strong answer | Staff answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preparation | No number ready | Knows the market median | Knows range by level and city, and a walk-away |
| First move | Names a single figure | Asks for the range | Asks, then offers a range if pressed |
| Scope | Base pay only, unlabelled | Base and bonus | Labels base, keeps bonus and equity open |
| Basis | What you earn now | A market figure | A market figure tied to this role's level |
| Close | Silence or "flexible" | Moves on | Ends with a question about their range |
Three variants of this question
"The hiring manager asks, after you already gave a range to the recruiter."
Repeat the same range. Consistency is credibility, and a changed number invites the question of why. If you learned something new, such as a higher level, say so first and then restate the range.
"Our range tops out below your number. Does that work?"
Do not say yes to be polite. Ask what the band is for the next level, whether bonus or equity can close the gap, and say plainly if the base is below your walk-away number.
"What number would make you say yes today?"
A question about the number that would make you say yes is a request for your target: give the bottom of your range with the whole package in view, and ask whether the offer can reach it. Say it calmly; it is a question, not an ultimatum.
Common mistakes
- Answering with what you earn now. (wrong) "I make about 120, so something a bit higher." Your old pay becomes the anchor, and some places now restrict asking for it (Virginia has a salary-history ban from 1 July 2026). (right) "I would rather talk about what this role pays; I am looking at this range."
- Saying "I am flexible" with no number. (wrong) "I am flexible, whatever is fair." You give up the anchor and tell them nothing. (right) State a range and say the mix is open.
- Putting your target at the top of the range. (wrong) A range whose real target is its top. The listener hears the bottom. (right) The target is the bottom.
- Quoting base pay only. (wrong) "I need a base of X." Bonus and equity vanish from the talk. (right) "Total compensation for this level."
- Ending on the number. (wrong) Silence after the figure. (right) A question that hands the turn back.
Follow-up questions
How to answer what are your salary requirements?
Treat it as the same question: research the market range, ask for the employer's range, then give a range with your target at the bottom and end with a question. Do not give a single figure unless the form forces one.
How to answer desired salary on an online application?
Enter the posted range or a range you researched if the field allows, or a placeholder if it does not, and say on the call that you want to discuss the whole package. The first call is covered in recruiter-screen compensation questions.
What is a good expected salary answer?
A good answer is a researched range with your target at the bottom, followed by a question about theirs. If you do not yet know the level, say so and ask for the range first.
Is that number base pay or total compensation?
Say which you mean. Give a base range when your data is base pay, as it is here, or a total range when you have level data for bonus and equity, and keep the other part open.
The same calm structure helps in Tell me about yourself and the behavioral interviews guide, the questions to ask the interviewer page has questions that follow a pay answer, and the interview loop guide shows where pay conversations fall in a loop.
- Know your researched range and walk-away number before any pay question arrives.
- Ask for the employer's range first; more places require it to be posted.
- If pressed, state a range with your target at the bottom, and talk about total compensation.
- Do not anchor on current pay or say "flexible" with no number.
- End on a question that hands the turn back.
Sources
- Software Developers, Occupational Outlook Handbook (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) — US Bureau of Labor Statistics (page last modified; data for May 2025), 27 Aug 2026
- Trends of pay transparency laws and salary history bans continue to grow: new laws enacted in Virginia, Maine and Delaware — Foley and Lardner LLP, 18 May 2026
- Anchoring Bias in Negotiation: Should You Make a Single Offer or a Range? — Harvard Program on Negotiation, 3 Mar 2026
- OEWS Frequently Asked Questions (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) — US Bureau of Labor Statistics (read 24 October 2026; wages exclude stock and year-end bonuses), 24 Oct 2026
- First offers as anchors: The role of perspective-taking and negotiator focus (Galinsky and Mussweiler; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 81(4)) — American Psychological Association (Crossref record; year only), 1 Jan 2001
