How the check works
- Your job is matched to one of 830 government job codes using O*NET's list of 43,000 real job titles. You see the code it picked and can change it.
- Your pay is placed among people doing that job where you work, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (OEWS, May 2025 figures, published May 2026). It covers 50 states and 387 metro areas, and gives the pay at the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentile. Between those points we draw a straight line, so a result like "more than 38%" is accurate to a few points, not to one.
- The ask comes from your experience. Under 2 years aims at the 25th percentile, 2 to 5 years at the median, 5 to 10 at the 65th, over 10 at the 75th. When at least three live postings match your job, level and state or metro, the ask is the average of that market figure and the middle of what those employers are posting, capped at the local 75th percentile (90th for more than 10 years). Remote postings are shown as evidence but never move the ask.
- The postings are real and current. 29,864 US job ads that publish a pay range, read from the public job boards of about 15,800 employers on Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby on 2026-11-01. Hourly ranges are converted at 2,080 hours a year.
What it can't tell you
- It doesn't know your employer. A hospital and a staffing agency pay the same job differently, and both sit inside one BLS figure.
- BLS pay is base wages, plus tips and commission, without bonuses, equity or benefits. If most of your pay is a bonus, compare base to base.
- Posting coverage is uneven. Office, tech and healthcare jobs in large metros have plenty. Restaurant, retail and trade jobs mostly hire through systems that don't publish feeds, so for those the check leans on BLS alone and says so.
- Title matching is automatic. "Associate" means something different at a bank and at a store. Check the job code it shows you.
What posted pay ranges show
We compared the midpoint of every posted range against the BLS median for the same job, leaving out lead, staff, principal and director titles and counting no more than five postings per employer, for the 72 jobs with at least 40 postings. Posted midpoints sat above the national median in 67 of the 72. Sales ranges usually quote on-target earnings, base plus expected commission, which is most of the reason sales jobs show the biggest gap. The typical range ran 25% from bottom to top, so a posting saying $80,000 to $100,000 is normal and one saying $80,000 to $160,000 is telling you very little.
| Job (BLS occupation) | Postings | BLS median | Posted midpoint | Gap | Range width |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 1,812 | $136k | $185k | +36% | 33% |
| Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | 1,580 | $70k | $135k | +93% | 24% |
| Marketing Managers | 954 | $167k | $170k | +2% | 25% |
| Project Management Specialists | 473 | $102k | $150k | +47% | 27% |
| Human Resources Specialists | 448 | $76k | $140k | +84% | 30% |
| Business Operations Specialists, All Other | 402 | $83k | $120k | +44% | 25% |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | 388 | $117k | $162k | +39% | 31% |
| Engineers, All Other | 365 | $123k | $170k | +38% | 38% |
| Mechanical Engineers | 352 | $104k | $159k | +53% | 38% |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 331 | $175k | $228k | +30% | 27% |
| Data Scientists | 314 | $120k | $160k | +33% | 28% |
| Computer and Information Research Scientists | 313 | $140k | $202k | +44% | 38% |
| Financial Managers | 256 | $167k | $155k | -7% | 25% |
| Web and Digital Interface Designers | 252 | $104k | $175k | +68% | 29% |
Read the gap with care. The companies in these feeds lean towards venture-backed tech and healthcare employers in big metros, who pay above the national middle. That is why the check gives the BLS figure and the postings separately, and blends them only for the ask.
National pay for the 20 largest jobs
| Job | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | $32k | $36k | $39k |
| Retail Salespersons | $30k | $35k | $39k |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $28k | $31k | $36k |
| General and Operations Managers | $72k | $106k | $167k |
| Registered Nurses | $80k | $98k | $112k |
| Cashiers | $29k | $33k | $36k |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | $36k | $40k | $47k |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | $34k | $37k | $45k |
| Customer Service Representatives | $37k | $45k | $52k |
| Office Clerks, General | $36k | $45k | $54k |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $28k | $35k | $47k |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | $32k | $37k | $44k |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | $48k | $59k | $69k |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | $39k | $48k | $58k |
| Software Developers | $105k | $136k | $172k |
| Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | $41k | $50k | $63k |
| Accountants and Auditors | $67k | $84k | $110k |
| Nursing Assistants | $37k | $42k | $47k |
| First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | $56k | $70k | $85k |
| Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary | $31k | $37k | $45k |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (cross-industry, detailed occupations); O*NET 31.0 job titles, U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0; U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation file (July 2023) and 2020 places-by-county file; employer job postings from public Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby job-board feeds, read 2026-11-01. BLS publishes "$239,200 or more" in place of exact pay above that line.