Free tool · Federal wage data

Counter-Offer Calculator

Most calculators multiply your offer by a fixed percentage. This one looks up what your occupation actually pays in your metro — from the federal wage survey — and shows you where your offer sits in that distribution.

How this calculator works

Every figure on the result panel comes from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics builds from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. It publishes wage percentiles — the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th — for roughly 830 occupations across about 530 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Your offer is placed in that distribution by interpolating between the published points.

The most recent OEWS estimates carry a May 2025 reference period and were released on 15 May 2026. Wages have moved since the reference date, so every percentile here is escalated to the current quarter using the BLS Employment Cost Index for private-industry wages and salaries. That is the standard way analysts age survey data, and it is why these numbers run above the ones printed in the BLS tables.

What this data does not cover

The OEWS technical note defines wages as straight-time gross pay. Base rate, cost-of-living allowances, commissions and production bonuses are included. Overtime, severance, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer benefit costs are excluded — which means equity, RSUs, signing bonuses and the annual bonus are not represented at all.

That is why this page asks for base salary separately from equity and bonus, and compares only the base. If most of your compensation arrives as stock, a strong percentile on base does not mean the offer is strong overall — and a weak one does not mean it is weak. Base and equity are negotiated differently anyway, so separating them is the right move regardless of what the survey covers.

How the counter range is chosen

The range is anchored on the market and then bounded by what a person can actually say. If your base sits below the median, the median becomes the thing to reach for — it is the easiest number in the world to justify out loud. If you are already mid-market, the range aims into the upper quartile instead.

Two guardrails apply. The conventional 10–20% above the offer band acts as a floor, so even someone already paid above the 90th percentile gets a sensible ask. And the top of the range is capped at about 30% above the offer, because past that the number stops being deliverable in a single conversation. When the market would justify more than the cap allows, the result says so rather than quietly shrinking your ask.

Knowing the number isn't the same as having the sentence

The arithmetic is the easy half. What decides the money is what you say when the recruiter goes quiet, or asks whether the figure is flexible — and a range on a screen doesn't answer that. Load your offer into the 2-minute quiz and you see where it stands in the federal wage band for your role and your metro — free. The workbook comes after, and only if you want it: the ask and the sentence that defends it, your counter-offer email word for word, and a written answer to each pushback you name.

Counter-offer questions

How much should you counter a job offer?

Start from where the offer actually sits in the market rather than a flat percentage. This calculator locates your base salary in the published wage distribution for your occupation and metro, then recommends a range anchored on the market — floored at the conventional 10–20% rule and capped so the ask stays deliverable in one conversation.

Where does the wage data come from?

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which publishes wage percentiles for around 830 occupations across roughly 530 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Figures are adjusted forward to the current quarter using the BLS Employment Cost Index, the same index compensation analysts use to age survey data.

Why does the data say “May 2025”?

That is the survey reference period, not the publication date. The May 2025 estimates were released on 15 May 2026 and are the most recent OEWS figures that exist — the next release lands roughly a year later. Because wages move in between, every figure here is escalated to the current quarter using the Employment Cost Index.

Does this include equity, RSUs and bonuses?

No, and that matters. OEWS measures straight-time gross pay: base salary, cost-of-living allowances, commissions and production bonuses are included, while nonproduction bonuses, equity and employer benefit costs are excluded entirely. The percentile therefore describes your base salary only. If a large part of your offer is stock or an annual bonus, treat the base comparison as one component of the picture rather than the whole of it.

What if my exact job title is not in the list?

Pick the closest occupation. The list follows the federal Standard Occupational Classification, which groups job titles into standardised occupations — “Software Developers” covers a wide range of engineering titles, for example. If your metro is not published for that occupation, the calculator falls back to national figures and says so on the result.

Is it rude to counter a job offer?

No. Employers build room for a counter into most offers and expect one. A polite, specific counter backed by a reason rarely costs you the offer — the rare rescinded offers follow aggressive ultimatums, not a normal ask.

Sources and further reading

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Tables
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. OEWS Technical Note — survey scope and wage definition
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Cost Index
Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School. How to Negotiate Your Salary and Raises

Not legal or financial advice. Voiced prepares negotiation materials from published wage statistics. This calculator reports public wage statistics and applies general negotiation guidance to them — it doesn't know your contract, your level, your employer's budget band, or your situation. For questions about specific terms (equity, bonus structure, immigration status), talk to a qualified professional.