See, and I was reading the comments and getting that it was generally not expected they ask what you expect to get paid, or if they did, they'd be happy with something generic like "in line with market value for the position and my experience" (as they'd then realize that you aren't stupid and both of you probably know what a fair pay for the position is and will almost certainly be able to come to an equitable agreement on pay and compensation).

If not, honestly, I'd generally assume the employer is stupid or shitty if they're asking such a question to potential employees.

1. If they don't know what they should be offering for the position, they're probably stupid and you probably don't want to work for them since working for stupid employers is generally a pretty big headache. BLS data and tons of other resources are available for them to discover what fair pay is for 99.999% of positions out there.
2. If they're not stupid, then they're hoping you are and trying/hoping to underpay you from the start of your relationship with them. That would make them shitty from the start of your relationship with them, and that's not a company you should probably want to work for either.

In precisely 0 interviews have I ever told anyone how much I expect to earn. I've received multiple job offers despite that. In fact, I've never been asked what I want to earn by a company. They all know what they're willing to pay and that's enough for them to evaluate my skills, education, experience and determine where in their pay range they've been willing to offer me compensation.

Some of those companies have given offers that I find/found reasonable/acceptable, others did not. None have been significantly more than I was looking for.