Salary range spread calculator
Calculate how wide a pay band is from its minimum and maximum.
Calculate how wide a pay band is from its minimum and maximum.
Spread = (maximum − minimum) ÷ minimum × 100. Midpoint = (minimum + maximum) ÷ 2. Spread around the midpoint = (maximum − minimum) ÷ midpoint × 100.
A band from £40,000 to £60,000 is £20,000 wide. That width is 50% of the minimum and 40% of the £50,000 midpoint. Wide bands leave room for progression. Narrow bands need more levels, or people hit the top quickly. If the maximum you enter is below the minimum, the width is treated as zero.
Width £20,000. 20,000 ÷ 40,000 × 100. Midpoint £50,000. 20,000 ÷ 50,000 × 100.
50% spread. 40% around the midpoint.
£50,000 to £60,000. Width £10,000. 10,000 ÷ 50,000.
20% spread
Say which baseline you used. “50% of the minimum” and “40% of the midpoint” are both true for the same band. The headline on this page is the spread from the minimum.
Use the salary range penetration calculator. Spread says how wide the band is. Penetration says where one person sits between the bottom and the top.
There is no universal width. Support bands are often narrower than senior professional bands. Compare bands that have similar work, not a junior band with an executive band.
Spread is the width of the band divided by the minimum. A narrower band leaves less room to move.