Salary Range

An asymmetric salary range quietly moves your midpoint above your anchor

Ask for −15% to +20% around a $100,000 anchor and you have named $85,000 to $120,000. If the other side splits the difference, they land on $102,500 — 2.5% above the number you started from. The asymmetry does the work, and almost nobody says the midpoint out loud.

How it works

• Turns a base figure and two percentages into the actual currency range you would be quoting.
• Shows the span from bottom to top, which is wider than the percentages suggest.
• Makes the implied midpoint visible, since that is the number a negotiation tends to drift toward.

low  = base × (1 + low% ÷ 100)
high = base × (1 + high% ÷ 100)
midpoint = (low + high) ÷ 2
span = high ÷ low

Worked example

A $100,000 anchor quoted as −15% to +20%.

1. low = 100,000 × 0.85 = $85,000
2. high = 100,000 × 1.20 = $120,000
3. midpoint = $102,500, which is 2.5% above the anchor
4. span = 120,000 ÷ 85,000 = 1.41, a 41% distance from floor to ceiling
5. a symmetric −15% to +15% would put the midpoint back at exactly $100,000

The range you say out loud contains a number you never said. Tilting the top further than the bottom raises the implied middle without ever naming a higher figure.

Reading the result

• The floor is the number that matters most, because it is the one you have already agreed to accept. A range is an offer to close at its bottom, so setting the low end at a figure you would be unhappy with is the most common way this goes wrong.
• A 41% span from floor to ceiling is very wide. Wide ranges invite the other side to treat the bottom as the real number and the top as ambition, which is why a tighter band often negotiates better than a dramatic one.
• This is arithmetic on percentages you choose, not market data. What the role actually pays comes from postings, published pay scales, colleagues and recruiters — the calculator only shows the shape of the range once you have decided on it.

Common questions

Should my range be symmetric around my target?

Only if you want the midpoint to equal your target. Symmetric percentages put the middle exactly on your anchor; tilting the top higher moves the implied middle up. Decide which number you want the conversation to converge on and build the range backwards from it.

How wide should the range be?

Narrower than instinct suggests. The example spans 41% from bottom to top, which signals genuine uncertainty about your own worth. A band you could defend line by line does more for you than a wide one.