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Salary & HRcareer

Salary Percentile Calculator

Where a salary sits in a distribution, with the median and mean side by side. Salary distributions are right-skewed, so the mean is always above the median and quoting it flatters.

Also called: salary comparison percentile, am i paid well.

Separate values with commas or spaces.

Your percentile
50%

You are at the 50%th percentile. The median is 1,400,000 and the mean is 1,825,000, and the gap between them shows the distribution is skewed by the top earners.

Median salary
1,400,000
Mean salary
1,825,000
25th percentile
987,500
75th percentile
2,100,000
90th percentile
3,200,000
On mean against median
The mean sits above the median, which is the usual shape for pay: a few very high earners pull the average up.
How this is calculated
Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

Count how many earn less and divide by the total. The comparison worth making is mean against median: pay distributions have a long right tail, so a handful of very high earners drag the mean up while the median stays where most people actually are. An average salary quoted as a mean is therefore higher than what a typical person earns, which is why medians are the honest statistic here.

percentile = those earning less, over the total
b
Salaries below yours

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

a mid salary in ten

Your salary
1,500,000
Salaries to compare against
600000, 800000, 950000, 1100000, 1300000, 1500000, 1800000, 2200000, 3000000, 5000000

Your percentile50%

Five of ten earn less; the median is between the fifth and sixth

Open this example

the mean exceeds the median in a skewed set

Your salary
600,000
Salaries to compare against
600000, 800000, 950000, 1100000, 1300000, 1500000, 1800000, 2200000, 3000000, 5000000

Your percentile0%

boundary: the skew this page exists to show

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • The comparison set is representative of the group you care about.

What it deliberately does not model

  • A small sample tells you very little. Published survey percentiles are more reliable than a handful of figures.
  • Total compensation and base salary are different distributions.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Why is the average salary higher than most people earn?
Because it is a mean and the distribution has a long right tail. A few very high earners pull it up. The median is what a typical person earns and is always the lower figure.