Desired Salary for an Internship: What to Put (With Examples)
Quick answer: Put a range, not a single number, and anchor it on your industry and your city — not a national average. Internship pay is now usually quoted hourly: Indeed's 2026 data puts the average US intern at around $20.38/hour, but that average hides an enormous spread — roughly $15-20/hour across much of the country, $23-75+/hour in major hubs, and $40-70+/hour for tech internships at large firms (levels.fyi). If the field forces one number, use the midpoint of your researched band. If you truly have no benchmark, "negotiable" is acceptable — but a researched number lands better than a hedge.
What Internships Actually Pay
The single most useful thing to know before you fill in that field: internship pay is quoted hourly now, and the national average is close to useless as an anchor because the spread between industries is so wide.
Public trackers do not fully agree, which is itself informative:
- Indeed puts the average US intern wage at about $20.38/hour, and lists its highest-paying intern cities around $23-24/hour (Boston, for example).
- ZipRecruiter, whose sample leans toward non-technical roles, describes $20/hour as above average, with many internships paying between minimum wage and $15/hour.
- levels.fyi, which tracks tech specifically, shows large-company tech internships at $40-70+/hour.
Those are not contradictions so much as different slices of the same market. Which slice you are in matters far more than any headline number.
Roughly, by industry
- Tech & software: the top of the market. Large firms run well into the $40-70+/hour range, and the biggest names go higher.
- Finance & investment banking: also well above average, commonly cited in the high-$20s to mid-$40s per hour.
- General business, marketing & communications: broadly the low-$20s to low-$40s per hour, depending on whether it is a corporate or agency role.
- Retail, hospitality, non-profit, and public sector: the bottom of the range, frequently at or near local minimum wage.
Roughly, by location
- Major hubs (New York, Boston, San Francisco): the top end, roughly $23-75+/hour, largely to offset cost of living.
- Everywhere else: the national picture sits nearer $15-20/hour, with plenty of roles at local minimum wage.
These are benchmarks for orienting yourself, not quotes. Internship pay moves, trackers disagree, and two identical-sounding roles at two companies in the same city can differ by multiples. Always check the specific company and role before you commit to a number — the section on finding the real number below covers how.
Is $20 an Hour Good for an Internship?
This is the most-asked version of the question, so it deserves a straight answer: $20/hour is now roughly average, not generous.
That is a change worth internalising. Indeed's 2026 figure of ~$20.38/hour means $20 sits almost exactly at the middle of the market, not at the top of it. Advice that still frames $20/hour as a strong intern wage is working from older data.
- Retail, hospitality, non-profit, admin: $20/hour is genuinely good, and above what many of these roles pay.
- Across the market as a whole: it is about average.
- Tech, finance, consulting at large firms: it is well below market, and asking for it would leave a lot on the table.
The same logic answers "is $23 an hour good?" — above average for most industries and roughly in line with the highest-paying intern cities, but still under market in tech and finance.
What to Actually Put in the Field
What you write depends on what the form allows.
If the field accepts text (best case)
Give a range about $3-5/hour wide, anchored on your industry and city:
If the field forces a single number
Use the midpoint of the band you researched. Do not anchor at the bottom hoping it improves your odds — it does not, and the number you write becomes the ceiling of any later conversation.
If you genuinely have no benchmark
Hedging is acceptable, as long as you understand the trade-off:
It keeps you in the process and signals flexibility. It also tells the recruiter you did not research, leaves the anchor entirely with them, and gives you less to negotiate against later. Use it as a fallback, not a default.
Should You Ever Put 0?
People search this, so it is worth answering plainly: no, not as a strategy.
Putting 0 does not read as enthusiasm. It reads as either a form error or as a candidate who does not value their own work, and some applicant tracking systems filter on that field in ways you cannot see. If the form demands a number and you want to signal flexibility, put a researched figure and say you are flexible — that communicates the same willingness without undercutting yourself.
Why the Range Is So Wide
Internships are not a single job market. The gap between the lowest- and highest-paying is wider than in almost any other category of work, for a few structural reasons:
- Industry sets the floor and the ceiling. A tech internship and a non-profit internship are not competing for the same candidates, so they are not priced against each other at all.
- Big firms use interns as a hiring pipeline. Where an internship is effectively a long interview for a well-paid graduate role, companies pay to win the candidate. Where it is temporary help, they do not.
- Scope and seniority vary hugely. A first-year summer placement and a final-year industrial placement carry different responsibility and different pay.
- Cost of living. Hub salaries are partly just rent.
Two internships with the same title, in the same industry, in the same city can still differ by a lot. That is why researching the specific company beats memorising a national average.
How to Find the Real Number for Your Role
- Check a tracker that matches your sector. levels.fyi for tech; Indeed or Glassdoor for broader roles. Filter by city, not country.
- Check the posting and its history. Many jurisdictions now require pay ranges on job ads — if the range is published, that debate is over.
- Ask your careers service. University careers offices often hold real placement data for the exact employers that recruit on your campus, which is better than any public tracker.
- Ask people one year ahead of you. The most accurate source available, and the most underused.
It is worth being realistic: as an intern you have less leverage than you will at any later point in your career, and competition for the best internships is heavy. That is an argument for researching carefully and pricing yourself accurately — not for pricing yourself low. Naming an accurate, defensible number is not the same as being difficult, and recruiters do not penalise it.
Applying to Enough Internships to Have a Choice
The strongest position in any salary conversation is having somewhere else to go. That comes from application volume, which is exactly the part of an internship search that is pure repetitive work.
LoopCV automates it: it matches openings across 30+ job boards against your criteria and applies on your behalf, so you can run a wide internship search without spending your term-time on application forms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I put for a desired salary for an internship?
If the field accepts text, a range is safest: give a band roughly $3-5/hour wide, anchored on what the role actually pays in your industry and city rather than a national average. If the field forces a single number, use the midpoint of that band. If you genuinely cannot find a benchmark, "negotiable" or "open to the market rate for this role" is acceptable — but a researched number almost always lands better with recruiters than a hedge.
Is $20 an hour good for an internship?
It depends almost entirely on your industry, and the honest answer has shifted. Indeed's 2026 data puts the average US intern wage at about $20.38/hour, which makes $20/hour roughly average rather than generous. ZipRecruiter, whose sample skews toward non-technical roles, still calls $20/hour above average. In tech, finance, and consulting it is well below market — levels.fyi tracks tech internships at $40-70+/hour. So: strong for retail, non-profit, or general admin; about average overall; low for tech or finance.
What is a reasonable salary for an internship?
There is no single reasonable number — the spread is genuinely enormous. Reported national averages cluster around $15-20/hour depending on which tracker you use. Major hubs like New York, Boston, and San Francisco run higher (roughly $23-75+/hour) to offset cost of living, while tech and finance internships at large firms sit far above the national picture. Reasonable means reasonable for your industry and your city, which is why a national average is a poor anchor.
Is $23 an hour good for an internship?
For most industries and most locations, yes — $23/hour is above the reported US average and roughly in line with what Indeed lists for its highest-paying intern cities, such as Boston. The exception is tech, finance, and consulting at large firms, where $23/hour would be well under market. As always the benchmark that matters is your sector in your city, not the national figure.
Should I put 0 for desired salary?
Only if the form requires a number and you intend to signal flexibility rather than a genuine willingness to work unpaid — and even then it is risky. Some applicant tracking systems filter on that field, and 0 can read as either an error or as someone who does not value their own work. "Negotiable", a researched range, or leaving it blank where permitted are all better options. Never put 0 believing it improves your chances of an offer; it does not.
