[Superman]

Rick's approach is a good one.

Every company at which you would want to work conducts compensation analyses, to ensure "internal" equity (salaries within the company make sense compared to other salaries in the company) and "external" equity (salaries within the company make sense compared to counterparts at other companies). Companies that pay rates which are not managed this way.....are messed up and this causes workers to feel cheated.

The question is a fair one, in a way. They may want to hire you, but not if you feel the pay sucks. If you feel that $80K is fair and they're thinking $55K, then hiring you would be a mistake because you would feel underpaid, and workers who feel cheated will be expensive, one way or the other.

They just want to know whether your expectations are potentially a match for what they are able to pay. And if this is a hard question, then I'd say you need to do your own compensation analysis. Find out what market rates are for your work.

As I say, Rick's approach is a good one. "I'm currently making $85K. I would want more responsibility in order to leave my current role, and more money. It's be great to make $125K but I'm not expecting that." See what they say.