"What is your desired salary?" asks for the pay you want for this specific job, and it reaches you in two places: as a field on an application form and as a question from a recruiter or interviewer. On a form, enter a number or a narrow range you have researched, anchored to the posted pay range if there is one. Out loud, give a range, say where it comes from, and leave room to talk about the whole offer. The rest of this guide covers every kind of form field (including the awkward numeric only ones), how to pick the number, six sample scripts, the new grad and visa cases, and an annual to hourly table.
Two questions in one: the form field and the interview
The same words mean slightly different things depending on where you meet them.
| Application form field | Recruiter or interview question | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before anyone has read your resume | After a first look, usually on the screening call |
| What it is used for | Screening, often before anyone calls you | Checking you are in the budget before more interviews |
| What you can say | Whatever the field allows: a number, a range, a dropdown | Anything, including a question back |
| Best default | One researched number or a narrow range in the upper half of the posted range | A range with a reason, plus "depending on the full package" |
| What to avoid | Placeholders such as 0, 1 or 999999 | Naming a number before you know the role's level or the range |
The form is the harder of the two, because it cannot hear your reasons. Most advice pages are written for the interview, so the form comes first here.
What to enter in each kind of form field
Application forms handle salary in a handful of ways. Here is what to do with each.
| Field type | What you see | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Free text, optional | An empty box, no asterisk | A narrow range such as "$105,000 to $115,000" (sample figures), or "Negotiable" if you have no data |
| Free text, required | An asterisk, any text allowed | A range or number; "Negotiable" may be accepted but gives the reader nothing |
| Numeric only | Rejects "$", commas or letters | One whole number, such as 110000; pick the middle of your range, not the bottom |
| Numeric with a minimum or maximum | An error if your number is outside the bounds | Your real number if it fits; if the bounds exclude it, that tells you something about the budget |
| Two boxes, minimum and maximum | "From" and "To" | A narrow range, no more than about 10% wide, so the bottom is still a number you would accept |
| Pay period dropdown | Hourly, monthly, annual | Match the unit the posting uses; convert with the table at the end of this post |
| Dropdown of bands | "$80k to $100k", "$100k to $120k" | The band that holds your number; if it sits on a boundary, take the higher band |
| Salary history | "Current salary" or "previous pay" | A different question; see below |
Three points sit behind that table.
Placeholders cost more than they save. Typing 1 or 999999 into a numeric field gets you past the validation, but the next person to read it sees either a typo or a refusal. A real number in your range does the same job without making you look careless.
The bottom of a range is the number they hear. If you enter "$95,000 to $125,000", plan on $95,000 being the figure that sticks. Keep a range narrow enough that you would be happy at its low end.
Desired salary is not salary history. Some states limit questions about what you were paid. California's Labor Commissioner says an employer "cannot, orally or in writing, personally or through an agent, seek salary history information", while the same FAQ says "nothing in the statute prohibits an employer from asking an applicant about their salary expectation." So the history field may be one you can leave blank, but the expectation field is fair game. For the rest of the form, our guide on how to fill out a job application goes field by field.
Picking your number: posted ranges and public data
A good desired salary has a source. There are three, in order of usefulness.
1. The posted range
More postings show pay now because some states require it. The ones below are from each state's own labor department pages, read on 18 October 2026.
| State | Who must post pay | What the rule says |
|---|---|---|
| California | Employers with 15 or more employees | Postings must include the pay scale, defined as "a good faith estimate of the salary or hourly wage range that an employer reasonably expects to pay"; applicants can also ask for it |
| New York | Employers with four or more employees | Postings must "list compensation ranges", as a minimum and maximum annual salary or an hourly rate |
| Washington | Employers with 15 or more employees | Postings must "include a wage scale or salary range" running from the lowest to the highest pay set before posting |
Other states have their own rules, so check the posting first and the state's labor department second. In California, the same FAQ says an employer must give an applicant the pay scale "upon reasonable request", which makes "Could you share the range for this role?" a question with legal backing there.
2. Public wage data
With no posted range, use data for the occupation and the city:
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics publishes wages for about 830 occupations, including by metropolitan area. The latest reference period is May 2025, released 15 May 2026.
- DOL's OFLC wage search at flag.dol.gov shows four wage levels by occupation and county for the July 2026 to June 2027 period. It exists for visa filings, but anyone can use it as a market check.
- NACE salary projections for new graduates, covered below.
3. A worked example
This is a sample, not a real offer. A posting lists $90,000 to $120,000 for a data analyst role, and you meet every listed requirement.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Midpoint of the posted range | (90,000 + 120,000) / 2 | $105,000 |
| You meet everything, so aim above the midpoint | 105,000 + about a third of the upper half (15,000 / 3) | about $110,000 |
| Free text answer | A narrow range around that point | "$105,000 to $115,000" |
| Numeric only answer | The middle of your range | 110000 |
If you meet only some requirements, start at the midpoint instead. Either way, you are not asking for the moon. You are naming a point inside a range the employer published.
Aiming above the bottom tends to pay. In a Pew Research Center survey of 5,188 US workers, of those who asked for more than the first offer, 28% got what they asked for and 38% got more than the original offer but less than they asked. That is about two thirds who came out ahead (our arithmetic). Only 35% ended with the original offer. Pew also found that 38% of those who did not ask said they were not comfortable asking. A number chosen in advance, in writing, makes that easier. Our salary negotiation guide covers the offer stage itself.
Scripts for the interview
These are sample answers written for this post. Swap in your own numbers and sources.
1. The posting has a range. "I saw the posted range of $90,000 to $120,000. Based on my experience with SQL and dashboarding for finance teams, I'd expect to land around $110,000, depending on the rest of the package."
2. You want their range first. "I'd like to make sure we're aligned. Could you share the budgeted range for this role? I'm happy to tell you where I fit in it."
3. No posted range, so you cite data. "For this role in Austin, the public wage data I looked at puts it around the mid-$90,000s for someone at my level, so I'm looking for $95,000 to $105,000."
4. The role is remote or needs a move. "For a remote role I'm targeting $100,000 to $110,000. If the role needs me in the office in another city, I'd want to talk about relocation support as well."
5. An internship paid hourly. "I'm looking for something in the range of $25 to $28 an hour, which is in line with what I've seen for similar internships. Is there a set rate for this program?"
6. You put a number on the form and now know more. "When I applied I put $100,000. Having heard more about the on-call rotation and the scope, I think $110,000 to $115,000 is a better fit."
Each one gives a range, a reason and an opening. None of them apologizes.
New grads and interns
With no salary to compare against, use what employers report paying. NACE, an association of employers and career centers, surveyed its employer members from October to November 2025 for its Winter 2026 Salary Survey and got 150 responses (a 20.3% response rate) and published these projected averages for the Class of 2026, base salary only:
| Bachelor's category | Projected average | Change on last year |
|---|---|---|
| Computer sciences | $81,535 | +6.9% |
| Engineering | $81,198 | +3.1% |
| Math and sciences | $74,184 | +6.4% |
| Business | $68,873 | +5.5% |
| Social sciences | not given | -1.7% |
These are averages across the country, and they skew toward the employers that answered. Treat them as a sanity check, then use the posted range or BLS metro data for the actual number.
For internships, NACE's 2026 guide to intern compensation put the average for bachelor's level interns at $23.35 an hour as of summer 2025, from 284 respondents. Internship forms often ask for an hourly figure, so answer in hours if the posting does.
On a visa: the wage floor
This section is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your situation with your school's international office or an immigration attorney.
If you will need H-1B sponsorship, your desired salary has a legal floor that most advice pages skip. The Department of Labor's Fact Sheet 62G says an H-1B employer must pay at least "the higher of the prevailing wage or the employer's actual wage (in-house wage) for similarly employed workers." The prevailing wage depends on the occupation, the county and the level the job is filed at. Level I is the lowest.
Here is what that floor looks like for software developers (SOC 15-1252), from the OFLC wage search, July 2026 to June 2027 series, all industries, looked up on 18 October 2026:
| County (metro) | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara, CA (San Jose) | $152,797 | $187,075 | $221,374 | $255,653 |
| Travis, TX (Austin) | $95,888 | $119,642 | $143,395 | $167,149 |
| Cook, IL (Chicago) | $92,789 | $117,083 | $141,398 | $165,693 |
| Franklin, OH (Columbus) | $85,800 | $104,624 | $123,427 | $142,251 |
Compare that with the NACE projection of $81,535 for computer science bachelor's graduates. In all four counties, Level I for this occupation is higher than the national new grad average. For a sponsored job, a desired salary below Level I in your county is below the lowest wage level DOL lists for that occupation and area. Look up your own occupation and county before you answer, and ask how the employer plans to set the wage.
Two more things depend on the level:
- The H-1B lottery. Under the weighted selection rule, effective 27 February 2026 and used for FY2027, a registration at Level IV is entered four times and Level I once. Our H-1B lottery post explains the odds, and H-1B wage levels goes deeper on the levels.
- A proposal, not a rule. On 27 March 2026 the Department of Labor proposed raising Level I from the 17th to the 34th percentile of local wages, Level II from the 34th to the 52nd, Level III from the 50th to the 70th and Level IV from the 67th to the 88th. Comments closed on 26 May 2026. As of 18 October 2026 we found no final rule in the Federal Register, so the table above is what applies today.
On STEM OPT the rule is different: there is no prevailing wage level, but the Form I-983 instructions from ICE say the duties, hours and pay "must be commensurate with those applicable to similarly situated workers who are U.S. citizens". A desired salary far below what the employer pays its other new hires in the same role is a problem for the employer as well as for you.
Annual to hourly: a conversion table
The standard conversion is 2,080 hours a year (40 hours times 52 weeks). The OFLC table above uses it: $73.46 an hour times 2,080 is about $152,797 (our arithmetic). The federal government's Office of Personnel Management divides by 2,087 because that is the average number of work hours in a calendar year. The difference is a few cents an hour.
Annual to hourly (our arithmetic, rounded to the cent):
| Annual | Hourly at 2,080 hours | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $19.23 | $3,333 |
| $50,000 | $24.04 | $4,167 |
| $60,000 | $28.85 | $5,000 |
| $70,000 | $33.65 | $5,833 |
| $80,000 | $38.46 | $6,667 |
| $90,000 | $43.27 | $7,500 |
| $100,000 | $48.08 | $8,333 |
| $120,000 | $57.69 | $10,000 |
| $150,000 | $72.12 | $12,500 |
Hourly to annual:
| Hourly | 52 paid weeks (2,080 hours) | 50 paid weeks (2,000 hours) |
|---|---|---|
| $15 | $31,200 | $30,000 |
| $20 | $41,600 | $40,000 |
| $25 | $52,000 | $50,000 |
| $30 | $62,400 | $60,000 |
| $35 | $72,800 | $70,000 |
| $40 | $83,200 | $80,000 |
| $50 | $104,000 | $100,000 |
Use the 50 week column for contract or hourly roles without paid time off. A contract rate also has to cover benefits a salaried job would include, so the same hourly figure is not the same pay.
Where ApplyEze fits
ApplyEze ranks matches by your own target roles and completes applications on 12 named platforms, with a resume and cover letter written for each posting. It does not choose your salary for you. Settle your number per role type and city before you apply anywhere, by hand or with a tool, so every application and every phone screen says the same thing. If you want to see a filled form before anything is sent, ApplyEze's dry run mode fills it and never clicks Submit.