They asked my salary range, what should I say? (update)

I have been out of work for 18 weeks and feel pressure to accept less. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. I do not want to price myself out. How do you research fairly?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

I gave a range based on local postings and said I was flexible depending on the whole package. They did not push back.