The present invention provides methods for analyzing compositions of polypeptides such as antibodies by ionic strength-mediated pH gradient ion exchange chromatography. In some aspects, the methods use a combination of pH gradients and ionic strength gradients to separate the polypeptide from charge variants of the polypeptide. In some aspects, the methods use a stable ionic strength to optimize the pH gradient separation window to separate the polypeptide from charge variants. Such methods are useful for analyzing polypeptide, e.g. antibodies, with a pI greater than 9 or a pI less than 7. In some aspects, the invention provides a multiproduct method for the analysis of polypeptides of varying pI's.