Jobseekers sometimes try to read between the lines of job listings to try to determine what the employer doesn’t want them to know. But when it comes to the ubiquitous phrase “competitive salary,” the ad usually means just what it says.

In fact, competitive salary usually means higher, not lower, pay, a JobLeads analysis of more than 21.5 million job postings found. This holds true across all industries and contract types, as well as most seniority levels. Jobs with these two words offer a median salary that is between $5,270 and $13,972 higher than standard postings. This competitive salary premium can be significant across a variety of industries:

• Management and operations,+$13,572
• Engineering, +$12,255
• Finance,+$10,570
• Marketing and media, +10,573
• Sales, +$9,571
• Bio, pharma and health, +$8,600
• Legal, +$7,858
• IT and technology, +5,370

So if competitive salary means premium pay, why do so many jobseekers tend to disregard it? Researchers found that one reason they are skeptical is because the phrase often is used by employers that already pay well. These companies often use it to signal that they are not the low-pay option, while ones that underpay prefer to soften the language or leave it out entirely.  

“But—and this is a genuine jobseeker frustration—the phrase still does not tell you what you will be paid,” the report said. “A +$13,972 median premium does not help an individual applicant evaluate the specific job. The signal is informative at the dataset level, not at the offer-letter level. So, the phrase isn’t deceptive. It’s just useless for negotiation. Real compensation transparency requires a number, not a euphemism.”

Published pay ranges are somewhat more helpful in the 15 states and the District of Columbia that have transparency requirements. Although the pay range is so wide that it is of little help in evaluating one-quarter of listings, it can still be useful in such areas as gender pay equity and negation leverage.

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