Are you paid fairly? While it’s not socially acceptable to ask people outright how much they make, there are ways to find out someone’s salary.
Few things in life are more taboo than talking about how much money you make – or trying to find out how much someone else makes – which can be tricky when salary negotiation for a new job or to ask for more money from your current employer.
And if you just want to make sure you are fairly paid – it certainly helps to know what colleagues at your level and above are taking home in their weekly or monthly paychecks. After all, you don’t want to be the lowest paid person in your office if you have more experience and perform at a higher level than some of your co-workers. And let’s be honest. Pay inequality is still a problem in 2024. Women have historically earned less than men in many job fields—even when doing similar work with the same amount of experience.
Of course, there are many other reasons you might want to find out someone’s salary that have nothing to do with living on the overgrown side of the road. Whatever your motives, here are some places to find salary information for millions of jobs, including those classified as remote and allowing you to work from home.
1. OpenPayrolls
OpenPayrolls bills itself as the nation’s largest salary database with more than 100 million public salary records by name, employer and job title. While most people who work for public institutions — such as state universities and K-12 public schools — understand that their salaries are a matter of public record, some are surprised to learn how long those records hang online.
If you’re interviewing for a job at a particular government-funded agency, it might help to know how much people earn in the role you’re looking for. After all, if the salary range for a job is listed as between $60,000 and $90,000, knowing if someone actually made it to the high end of the scale can help you decide if it’s worth pursuing.
2. Glassdoor.com
Whether you’re serious about starting your job search or wondering what you could earn working for a specific company in a specific position, Glassdoor.com offers a wealth of real-world information from current and former employees of thousands of businesses in the United States and abroad. In addition to information on annual and hourly rates, Glassdoor also includes company reviews, so you’ll get a better idea of things like company culture and the quality of benefits, including everything from health insurance and sick days to retirement plans and overtime. pay, holiday benefitsand other benefits from people who actually worked there.
3. Finding salaries in reality
On Indeed.com, the company offers Really looking for salarieswhich is based on an index of salary information gleaned from more than 50 million job postings, according to the jobs firm. While many job descriptions don’t include salary information, Indeed explains that “there is enough to generate statistically significant median salaries for millions of keyword, job, and location combinations.”
According to Indeed, the salary search index is automatically updated with new salary data every 24 hours, so the results are up-to-date.
4. Transparent California
From the head football coach at the University of California to the fire chief in Long Beach, Transparent California breaks down base pay plus overtime, other pay and benefits for about 35 million California state employees. The group’s mission is to provide a comprehensive database of public salary information (from public employers) to help ensure government transparency “while empowering a network of well-informed citizen activists to hold government accountable.” California it is also one of the states that now has pay transparency laws.
5. PayScale
Those who go online and complete PayScale’s salary survey will receive reports showing how their salary compares to others with similar education, work experience and skills. How can it be useful? Maybe you’re thinking about moving and want to see how moving to a different area (with a different cost of living) will affect your income. You can also do career research on different jobs (by state or industry) and search detailed salary data here.
6. Candid (formerly GuideStar)
If you’re wondering how much CEOs and other C-suite leaders earn at nonprofits in the United States, Candid probably has the answers. Formerly known as GuideStar, Candid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering payroll data and other insights that was created in 2019 when GuideStar and the Foundation Center merged. The company uses employee wage data pulled from IRS Forms 990. While most of the information is free to review, Candid requires visitors to log in before gaining access to certain data. The company also produces annuals Compensation Report for Nonprofit Organizations which offers details on executive pay at nonprofits across the country.
7. Job offers
If your own company is hiring, one way to find out how much they are willing to pay new workers is to look at the job openings that are posted on the company’s website. If no salary details are listed — only about a dozen states have pay transparency laws on the books so far — you can also search for the position on job sites like Indeed, Glassdoor and Monster. Also, don’t forget LinkedIn to see if the job is listed there.
8. Your human resources department
People who work in human resources may be able to offer more insight into a job’s salary range than you might think. Sometimes they may disclose certain information only upon request. So if your company has an open position that you would like to learn more about, start by calling or visiting your HR department. You can also find out how much you can earn in your current position and how much other roles a notch or two above your current role are earning.
9. States with pay transparency laws
Nearly a dozen states now have pay transparency laws in an effort to create a level playing field, without discrimination, for workers trying to ensure they are paid fairly. The following states have laws that require employers to provide access to salary information: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New YorkRhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Minnesota recently approved the law on remuneration transparency which will come into effect from January. 1, 2025. Other US states, counties and cities, including New York, either have or are considering pay transparency laws in 2024.
How to find out someone’s salary package
Knowledge is power when it comes to how much we know about the average salaries and compensation packages of coworkers, current employees, and people in similar positions at other companies. When you enter a salary negotiation with a potential employer, you want to be able to offer a solid salary expectation if asked. You also need to understand the pay scale of your current position so you know if you have any room to move up the corporate ladder.
