Market Benchmarking Methodology
The data source
Our market benchmarks come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (BLS OEWS) program. This is the largest employer-reported wage survey in the United States, covering over 1.1 million establishments and producing wage estimates for 830 occupations across 391 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
This is not self-reported survey data from freelancers. It is not scraped from job boards. It is collected directly from employers and verified by federal statisticians. The May 2024 release (the most recent as of this writing) is the basis for all our benchmarks.
How percentile mapping works
For each profession, we map BLS wage percentiles (p10, p25, median, p75, p90) to a continuous scale. When your calculated rate falls between two percentile points, we use linear interpolation to determine your exact position.
For example, if the p25 wage for web developers in your metro is $65/hr and the median is $85/hr, and your calculated rate is $75/hr, you fall at roughly the 37th percentile — above the bottom quarter but below the middle.
Key takeaway
The percentile tells you where you sit relative to the entire market — not whether your rate is "good" or "bad." A 30th percentile rate might be exactly right for routine work. A 90th percentile rate might be justified for specialized, high-stakes consulting.
Regional Price Parities (RPP)
A $100/hr rate in San Francisco has different purchasing power than $100/hr in Austin. The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes Regional Price Parities (RPP) that measure price level differences across metro areas.
An RPP of 1.18 (San Francisco) means prices are 18% above the national average. An RPP of 0.92 (a lower-cost metro) means prices are 8% below average. We apply these multipliers to adjust the national BLS wage data to local market conditions.
This means the calculator gives you a rate that reflects what clients in your area are accustomed to paying — not just a national average that may over- or under-shoot your market.
What the data does not capture
BLS data measures wages for employed workers, not freelancers. Freelance rates are typically 40-80% higher than equivalent salaries because freelancers bear their own overhead, taxes, benefits, and business risk.
The data also does not capture specialization premiums (e.g., a Shopify expert vs. a generalist web developer), reputation effects, portfolio quality, or the value of specific client relationships. These factors can move a rate by 20-50% in either direction.
We account for these gaps through skill-level multipliers and project-complexity adjustments in the calculator. But the BLS data provides the anchor — the objective starting point that removes guesswork from the equation.
Key takeaway
BLS data is the floor, not the ceiling. It tells you what employed professionals earn. Your freelance rate should be higher, and our multipliers help you determine how much higher based on your specific situation.