How to know if you’re underpaid: A step-by-step guide to finding out and fixing it

Find out how to research your market value using salary tools, job postings, and AI — then spot the warning signs that confirm you’re underpaid. From there, walk through how to build a data-backed case, prepare negotiation scripts, have the conversation with your manager, and follow up whether the answer is yes, no, or “let me get back to you.”

Before you can claim you’re underpaid, you need evidence. That starts with understanding what your role actually pays in your market. You have more data sources available in 2026 than at any point in history. Here are three ways to build a clear picture.

Use Glassdoor Salaries

With Glassdoor Salaries, you can search by job title, company, and location to see what real employees report earning. Don’t stop at the median number. Look at the range: where you fall within it tells you whether you’re at the bottom, middle, or top of your market. Filter by years of experience and company size for a tighter comparison. If you’re consistently landing below the 25th percentile, that’s a data point worth paying attention to.

Check pay transparency in job postings

A growing number of states and cities now require employers to include salary ranges in job postings. Colorado, California, New York, Washington, and several others have passed pay transparency laws (see Glassdoor’s pay transparency research) that make posted ranges a reliable benchmark. Search current job postings for your exact role and location. If companies are advertising $95,000–$120,000 for the position you hold at $82,000, the market is sending you a signal.

Use AI salary tools carefully

People are increasingly using AI chatbots to research salary benchmarks, and they can be a useful starting point. But treat AI-generated salary data the way you’d treat a friend’s guess: worth hearing, not worth betting on. AI tools pull from training data that can be months or years old; they don’t know your specific market, and they can confidently state numbers that are flat-out wrong. Use AI to generate questions and identify salary factors you hadn’t considered, then verify everything against Glassdoor Salaries and current job postings.

One rule of thumb: Don’t rely on a single salary source. Cross-reference at least three data points before concluding you’re underpaid.

Salary data gives you the external picture. But some of the clearest signs that you’re underpaid come from inside your own company and career history. Run through this checklist and count how many apply to you.

Market signals

• Recruiters keep offering you more. If inbound messages from recruiters consistently quote compensation above what you currently earn for similar roles, the market is telling you something. One outlier is noise. Three or more is a pattern.
• Job postings for your role advertise higher pay. This is especially telling when the posting is at your own company. If your employer is willing to pay a new hire more than they pay you, salary compression is real, and it’s affecting your paycheck.
• Your salary hasn’t kept pace with inflation. As of April 2026, the 12-month CPI inflation rate sits at 3.8% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If your annual raise was 2%, you didn’t get a raise. You got a pay cut.

Internal signals

• New hires earn what you do, or more. This is one of the most common triggers. When someone with less experience walks in at your salary level, it’s a clear sign that the market has moved and your pay hasn’t.

“Biggest sign I was underpaid? Finding out new hires with less experience were making more than me. Also — if recruiters constantly offer way higher comp for similar roles, that’s a red flag.” — Engineer, Glassdoor Community

• You haven’t changed jobs in five or more years. Staying at one company can mean stability, but it often comes with a loyalty penalty. Employers hoping to attract external candidates tend to offer higher salaries than they give as raises to existing employees. If you’ve been in the same seat for half a decade without a significant adjustment, the gap between your pay and your market value has likely widened.
• You never negotiated your starting salary. When employers extend offers, they typically expect pushback. Their initial number reflects that expectation. If you accepted the first offer, you probably left money on the table. And because raises are often calculated as a percentage of your current salary, that gap compounds every year. Only 7% of women negotiate their first salary, compared to 57% of men — a disparity that feeds directly into the long-term earnings gap.
• Your responsibilities grew, but your title and pay didn’t. Scope creep is one of the quietest ways companies underpay employees. You started as a coordinator, and now you’re running a team, managing a budget, or owning a P&L. If the work changed, but the compensation didn’t, you’re being paid for a role you outgrew.
• Your company is growing, but your pay isn’t. Revenue up, headcount up, new office opened — but no raises. When the business is clearly doing well, and your salary stays flat, that’s a deliberate choice by the company, not a budget constraint.

If three or more of these apply, the data is pointing in a clear direction. The next step is building a case you can bring to your manager.

Walking into a salary conversation without preparation is like showing up to a job interview without reviewing the job description. You need three things: documented contributions, market data, and the words to tie them together.

Document your contributions

Start a running list of your wins. Include specific projects, measurable outcomes, and any responsibilities you’ve taken on beyond your original job description. Revenue generated, costs saved, processes improved, and people mentored — write it all down. Lead with concrete metrics: revenue generated, project outcomes, percentage improvements. “I led the migration that reduced downtime by 40%” gives your manager something to take to leadership.

“I began documenting ways I added value and came armed with that during review time when going for a reasonable market adjustment to my salary. I was shocked but shouldn’t have been when my salary expectations were met.” — Product Engineer, Glassdoor Community

Compile your market data

Pull salary data from Glassdoor Salaries, note the ranges you found in job postings, and compile it into a simple one-page summary. Include your job title, location, years of experience, and the market range for each source. Three to five data points are enough. The goal is to show a pattern, not bury your manager in spreadsheets.

Draft your opening script

Having the right words ready prevents the conversation from going sideways. Here’s a script you can adapt:

I’ve been doing some research on market rates for [your role] in [your location], and I want to share what I’ve found. Based on my [X years] of experience, the scope of work I’m currently handling, and the market data I’ve gathered from multiple sources, I believe my compensation should be in the range of $X–$Y. I’ve put together a summary of the data and my recent contributions — I’d love to walk you through it.

This works because it leads with data, not feelings. It names a specific range instead of leaving the number open-ended. And it positions the conversation as collaborative, not confrontational.

Draft a follow-up script

Managers often respond with ‘let me look into it’ or ‘I need to check the budget.’ That’s not a no — but it’s not a yes, either. Prepare for that moment:

I completely understand that this involves other stakeholders. When would be a good time to revisit this? I’d like to put something on the calendar so we can continue the conversation.

This keeps the momentum going without applying pressure. It also creates a paper trail: once there’s a calendar invite, the topic is harder to quietly drop. People who counter-offer in salary negotiations receive an average increase of roughly 12.45% in compensation, according to research from UCLA Anderson. Having a script ready makes you more likely to counter — and more likely to succeed.

If you’re looking for additional data points to confirm your suspicion that you’re underpaid, consider discussing pay with coworkers. This feels uncomfortable for most people, but it’s one of the most effective ways to uncover pay gaps that salary databases can’t catch.

First, the legal reality: it’s illegal for employers to prohibit discussion of pay at work. The National Labor Relations Act protects most private-sector employees’ right to talk about compensation. If your company has a policy against it, that policy is unenforceable.

That said, just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s comfortable. Here’s how to approach it.

Go to someone you trust. A close colleague, a former coworker who’s moved on, or someone at your level in a different department. Choose a private setting and keep the pressure low.

Barry Maher, career consultant, speaker, and author, recommends two tactics that put people at ease: share what you make first, and discuss pay in terms of a range rather than exact figures. Something like:

I’ll be talking with my boss about compensation at some point soon, and I’m just trying to get a rough idea of what I should be looking for. To give you an idea of what I’m getting right now, it’s roughly XYZ. Is that the kind of range you’re in as well?

You won’t always get a response — and if you don’t, respect that. But when you do, it’s one more data point for your case.

Pay transparency laws add another angle here: if your company posts salary ranges for open positions, check whether the posted range for your role exceeds what you’re currently earning. That’s public information that doesn’t require an awkward conversation with anyone.

If you want to discuss salary strategy with people outside your company, the Salary Negotiations bowl in the Glassdoor Community is a space where professionals share real negotiation experiences and advice.

You have the data. You have the script. Now it’s time to have the actual conversation. (If you need a full walkthrough, see our guide on how to ask for a raise.) How you set it up matters as much as what you say.

Schedule a dedicated meeting. Don’t bring this up casually at the end of a weekly one-on-one or drop it into a project check-in. Request a separate meeting and let your manager know you’d like to discuss your compensation. This signals that you’re taking it seriously and gives them time to prepare, too.

Lead with your contributions, then present market data. Start by walking through your documented wins and expanded responsibilities. Then pivot to the market data. This order matters: it frames you as someone who has earned a raise, not just someone who found a higher number online.

Ask for a specific number or range. “I’d like to discuss getting a raise” is too vague to act on. “Based on my research, I believe my compensation should be in the range of $X–$Y” gives your manager something concrete to take to their leadership or HR team.

“Research market rates for the role and base your expectations on that, not your current paycheck. You have to watch out for yourself. Most companies right now want to give the least money for the most work.” — Digital Marketing Coordinator, Glassdoor Community

Stay grounded, not emotional. This is a business conversation. You’re presenting a case backed by data, not making a personal plea. If you feel the conversation getting tense, bring it back to the numbers.

Even a well-prepared salary conversation can go wrong if you hit one of these pitfalls:

• Threatening to quit. Unless you actually have another offer in hand and are genuinely willing to walk, this backfires. It shifts the dynamic from collaboration to confrontation, and your manager will remember it long after the conversation ends.
• Comparing yourself to a specific coworker. “But Sarah makes more than me” puts your manager on the defensive and violates a colleague’s privacy. Stick to market data and your own contributions.
• Apologizing for asking. “I’m sorry to bring this up,” and “I know this is awkward” undermine your case before you’ve even made it. You’re making a business case, not asking for a favor.
• Accepting the first “no” as final. A “no” is often “not right now.” Ask when the conversation can be revisited and get a specific timeline.
• Bringing it up during a crisis. If the company just announced layoffs, your manager’s team is being reorganized, or the quarter just tanked, your timing will work against you, no matter how strong your case is.
• Relying on a single data source. One salary report isn’t a market rate. Cross-reference Glassdoor Salaries, job postings, and at least one other source before naming a number.

The meeting is over. Regardless of how it went, what you do next matters.

Send a follow-up email the same day. Summarize what was discussed, any commitments that were made, and the agreed-upon timeline. This creates a written record that protects you if the conversation gets lost in the shuffle of your manager’s week.

If they said “let me check the budget,” follow up in two weeks. Not two months. Two weeks. Enough time to be reasonable, so that it doesn’t fall off the radar.

If they gave you a specific timeline, hold them to it. Mark the date in your calendar and follow up on it. “You mentioned we’d revisit this at the end of Q2 — I wanted to circle back on that” is a professional and completely fair thing to say.

Document everything. Keep a record of the conversation, the follow-up email, and any subsequent discussions. If nothing changes over the next several months, you’ll want this record when you’re evaluating your options.

“I would definitely ask for a salary audit. Especially considering the cost of living increases and inflation. It’s possible that you’re making less than people with your experience and education in your area.” — Customer Success Manager, Glassdoor Community

Sometimes the answer is no. The budget isn’t there, the company is in a freeze, or your manager doesn’t have the authority to approve it. That doesn’t mean the conversation was wasted — it means you need a Plan B.

Negotiate non-salary compensation. If the base salary won’t move, ask about remote work flexibility, an upgraded title, a professional development budget, additional PTO, or equity if your company offers it. These have real financial and career value, even if they don’t show up on your paycheck.

Set a timeline. Ask your manager: “What would need to change for this conversation to have a different outcome?” and “When can we revisit this?” If the answer is vague, propose your own timeline — six months is reasonable. Mark it in your calendar.

Start building your external case. The salary research you’ve done doesn’t expire. Use it to negotiate a higher starting salary at your next role. Update your resume, start conversations with recruiters, and explore what’s out there. You don’t have to leave tomorrow, but you should know your options.

Don’t let your current salary set the anchor for your next one. If you’ve been underpaid for years, the worst thing you can do is let that number follow you. When evaluating new opportunities, base your expectations on market data, not your current paycheck. Pay transparency laws in many states also mean you can see the salary range before you even apply.

Not every moment is the right one to have a salary conversation. If your company just announced layoffs or a hiring freeze, pressing for a raise will read the room wrong. The same applies during your first 90 days in a role, right after a major mistake or missed deadline, or when your manager is visibly under pressure from a reorg or budget cuts.

Bad timing doesn’t mean you should abandon the effort. It means you should redirect your energy: keep documenting your contributions, continue building your market data file, and watch for a better window. Review cycles, strong quarterly results, and the close of a successful project are all natural openings.

The one thing you shouldn’t do is let bad timing become a permanent excuse. There will always be a reason to wait. Set a date to reassess, and when that date arrives, evaluate the landscape honestly and act accordingly.

What if I discover a coworker makes significantly more for the same role?

Resist the urge to confront your manager with, “but so-and-so makes more.” Instead, treat the information as one data point alongside your market research. Build your case around external salary data, your own contributions, and the market range for your role — not a direct comparison to a specific colleague. That framing keeps the conversation productive and protects your coworker’s privacy.

Can I renegotiate salary during onboarding if I realize I accepted too low?

It’s possible, but the window is narrow. If you discover compelling market data before your start date or within the first few weeks, you can raise it with your hiring manager by framing it as new information: “Since accepting, I’ve done additional research and want to revisit the compensation discussion.” The longer you wait, the harder it becomes — most companies won’t entertain a renegotiation after 90 days.

How does remote or hybrid work affect whether I’m underpaid?

If your role spans multiple geographies, “market rate” depends on which market your company uses. Some employers pay based on the company’s headquarters location, while others adjust based on the employee’s home location. Check whether your employer uses a location-based pay model and compare your salary to the relevant market — not just national averages.

My manager says the budget is frozen, but the company is clearly profitable. What do I do?

A budget freeze is a departmental constraint, not necessarily a company-wide one. Ask your manager to specify when the freeze lifts and whether there’s an off-cycle review process. If the timeline is vague, ask what would need to change. Document the conversation, set a follow-up date, and in the meantime, explore whether other teams or roles within the company have budget flexibility.

Should I mention a competing offer when asking for a raise?

Only if the offer is real and you’re genuinely willing to leave. A bluff that gets called ends badly. If you do have a legitimate offer, present it factually (“I’ve received an offer at $X and wanted to discuss it before making a decision”) rather than as a threat. Be prepared for the possibility that your employer says “congratulations” and doesn’t counter — that tells you something, too.