How to ask for a raise: what the pay data say, and a script that works

The numbers behind the conversation

Start with the budget your employer is probably working with. In the WorldatWork 2025–2026 Salary Budget Survey, which covers 1,774 organisations, US employers reported an average salary increase budget of 3.9% in 2024 and 3.7% in 2025, and projected 3.6% for 2026.

Average US salary increase budgets. Source: WorldatWork 2025–2026 Salary Budget Survey (July 2025).

That average hides a wide spread: budgets are shared out unevenly, and the people who make a documented case are better placed to land at the top of the range rather than at the average.

The gap you may be closing is real. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women working full time had median weekly earnings of $1,089 in 2025, or 82.1% of the $1,326 earned by men. The BLS notes that the 2025 annual figures are 11-month averages, because October data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.

Asking works more often than not

Pew Research Center asked US workers whether they had negotiated pay when they were offered their current job. Only 28% of women and 32% of men said they had asked for more than the offer. Among all those who asked:

Outcomes among workers who asked for higher pay when offered their current job. Source: Pew Research Center, survey of 5,188 workers, published April 2023.

In other words, two in three people who asked came away with more than the first offer. Pew also found a gap: women who asked were more likely than men (38% vs 31%) to end up with only what had been offered. That is an argument for preparing harder, not for staying quiet.

Build your case in four steps

1. Find your market rate. The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program publishes wages for about 830 occupations, nationally and for hundreds of metro areas, including percentiles. Look up your job title and city: if your pay sits below the median for your area, you have a factual opening line.
2. List results, with numbers. Revenue brought in, hours saved, projects delivered, people trained. Three concrete results beat ten adjectives.
3. Pick a figure and a range. Decide the number you will ask for and the lowest you would accept. If the company budget is around 3.6%, a well-supported ask for more needs the market data from step 1.
4. Time it. Ask before salary budgets are finalised – often a few months before the annual review – or right after a visible win, a promotion in scope, or a new responsibility added to your job.

A script you can adapt

"I'd like to talk about my compensation. Over the past year I [result 1, with a number] and [result 2]. I've looked at the market: for [job title] in [city], the BLS wage data put the median at [$X], and I'm currently at [$Y]. Based on that, I'm asking for [$Z]. What would it take to get there in this review cycle?"

Then stop talking. If the answer is "not now", ask two follow-up questions: what specific results would justify the raise, and when you can revisit it. Write the answers down and send a short recap email the same day.

If the answer is no

• Negotiate the non-salary items. A title change, a training budget, an extra day of remote work or a guaranteed review date in six months all have value.
• Get the criteria in writing. A recap email turns a vague promise into something you can point back to.
• Know your outside value. The Pew figures come from job offers: a competing offer is the clearest proof of your market rate, which is why it is worth knowing even if you plan to stay.