How to Ask for a Raise at Work

Asking for a raise is easier when the conversation is not really about asking for a favor. If your job has become materially larger, your results have improved, or your pay has fallen out of line with comparable work, the discussion can be framed as a review of whether your compensation still matches the role you are performing.

That does not guarantee a higher salary. Employers work within budgets, pay ranges, internal-equity rules and compensation cycles, and some managers have little authority to change pay on their own. A useful raise conversation therefore has two goals: make the strongest evidence-based case you can, and learn what the employer would actually need to see—or be able to approve—for your compensation to change.

When Is a Good Time to Ask for a Raise?

There is no federal rule or universal career timetable saying you should ask after six months, one year or any other fixed period. The U.S. Department of Labor states that pay raises above the federal minimum wage are generally a matter of agreement between the employer and employee or the employee’s representative; the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require them.

The strongest timing usually comes from a change you can explain.

Examples include:

• your responsibilities have expanded materially;
• you now own work previously handled by a more senior role;
• you completed an important project with measurable results;
• you took responsibility for a larger customer, territory, budget or team;
• you gained a skill or credential that is relevant to the job and is being used;
• your role has changed enough that your original compensation no longer reflects the work; or
• you are approaching a known compensation or budgeting cycle and have enough evidence to make the case.

A performance review can be a natural time to discuss pay, but it is not the only time. DOL notes that merit pay often involves an employer reviewing performance over a period of time, while also making clear that merit pay itself is generally a matter between employer and employee.

Timing Is Weaker When the Case Is Mostly Personal

A higher rent payment, family expense or rising grocery bill may be a real reason you need more income. It is not necessarily evidence that the market value or scope of your job has changed.

Use your personal financial needs to decide whether your current salary still works for you. Build the employer-facing case around the work.

Build Your Raise Case Around Scope and Results

Start by comparing the job you were hired to do with the job you are doing now.

The most persuasive evidence is specific enough that another person can understand what changed.

Useful categories include:

• revenue generated or protected;
• cost reduced or avoided;
• hours saved;
• errors or rework reduced;
• customers retained;
• projects completed;
• new responsibilities accepted;
• people trained or supervised;
• processes improved;
• risk reduced; and
• decisions or projects you now own.

If you have difficulty identifying your contribution, the career evidence habit described in our soft-skills guide can help you record projects and results while they are still fresh.

Research What Comparable Work Pays

Market salary research can strengthen a raise request, but only when the comparison is relevant.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program publishes wage estimates for about 830 occupations. Its current salary-negotiation guidance specifically notes that the data can be useful when requesting a raise at your current job.

Instead of looking only at a national average, compare:

• your occupation;
• your geographic area;
• your industry;
• your experience and education where relevant;
• your actual level of responsibility; and
• the full wage distribution.

BLS publishes percentile wages including the 10th, 25th, median, 75th and 90th percentiles. Those numbers show how widely pay can vary within one occupation.

Use Several Relevant Reference Points

A useful market-pay check can combine:

• BLS OEWS wage data;
• CareerOneStop’s Salary Finder, which uses BLS wage information;
• salary ranges in comparable current job postings;
• your employer’s published pay band, if available; and
• credible recruiter or professional-network information.

Give more weight to sources that closely match your location and job scope.

A national salary for “marketing manager” is not a clean comparison if you work in a smaller regional organization with a narrower role. The title alone does not determine the market value.

How Much of a Raise Should You Ask For?

There is no universal answer such as 5%, 10% or 20%.

Begin with two numbers:

1. Your current compensation.
2. A supportable target based on the job you are actually doing.

Then consider why the gap exists.

If your current salary is $70,000 and the evidence supports a target around $78,000, asking for $73,500 simply because “5% sounds reasonable” may understate the case. The reverse is also true: asking for $84,000 because a blog recommends 20% does not make the request market-based.

Use a Number You Can Explain

Your manager may need to defend the request to HR or a compensation committee. Give them an argument they can repeat:

A narrow range can also work when company practice makes a single number less appropriate, but avoid making the bottom of the range a number you would be unhappy to accept.

Schedule a Dedicated Raise Conversation

A compensation request deserves more than a sentence added to the end of another meeting.

Ask for a short dedicated conversation so your manager has time to prepare.

You do not need to send the entire negotiation case in the calendar invite. The goal is to make the topic clear enough that the manager is not surprised.

Bring a Short Evidence Sheet

Prepare one page or a few notes with:

• your current responsibilities;
• important responsibilities added since the last pay decision;
• three to five strong outcomes;
• relevant market-pay data;
• your requested salary or range; and
• one or two questions if the employer cannot approve it.

This prevents the conversation from becoming a memory test.

What to Say When Asking for a Raise

The conversation can be direct without sounding confrontational.

A useful structure is:

Then stop talking and let your manager respond.

You do not need to fill every pause or immediately negotiate against yourself by adding, “but I’m flexible” before hearing the answer.

If Your Manager Asks Why You Deserve More

Return to the evidence rather than becoming defensive.

What Not to Base Your Raise Request On

Several arguments may be emotionally understandable but weak in a compensation discussion.

Economy-wide data can provide context, but they are not an individual compensation formula. For example, BLS reported that private-sector wages and salaries in its Employment Cost Index rose 3.3% over the 12 months ending June 2026. That does not mean every employee should receive a 3.3% raise—or that a 3.3% raise is sufficient for someone whose job has moved to a higher level.

What to Do If Your Manager Says No or Not Yet

A “no” contains useful information only if you understand why.

Ask a follow-up question such as:

• “Is the constraint my performance, the budget or the salary range for the role?”
• “What would need to change for an increase to be approved?”
• “Is there a level or title that better matches the responsibilities I’m handling?”
• “When is the next point at which compensation can be reconsidered?”
• “Who besides you is involved in the decision?”

The answer determines the next step.

Turn “Later” Into Something Measurable

“Let’s revisit this in a few months” is not a plan until you know what will be different then.

A future review is still not a guaranteed raise, but it gives you a clearer basis for evaluating whether the employer follows through.

If Salary Cannot Move, Consider the Rest of Compensation

Salary may be the most important item to you, but it is not always the only item with economic value.

Depending on the employer, you might discuss:

• bonus opportunity;
• additional paid time off;
• remote or hybrid flexibility;
• professional-development funding;
• schedule flexibility;
• title or level;
• promotion path;
• retirement contributions where the plan allows variation;
• additional responsibility that supports a future promotion; or
• a defined compensation-review date.

Some benefits are governed by standardized plans and cannot be negotiated individually.

BLS compensation data also show why it is worth looking beyond salary. In March 2026, benefits accounted for 30.1% of average employer compensation costs for private-industry workers. That is an aggregate employer-cost measure—not a rule that your personal benefits equal 30.1% of salary—but it illustrates that non-wage compensation can be economically significant.

When a Promotion or Job Change May Be the Better Path

Sometimes the salary problem cannot be solved inside the current role.

If your employer confirms that:

• you are already at or near the top of the pay range;
• your responsibilities are permanently above your level but the company will not re-level the role;
• market pay is materially higher and the employer has no plan to close the gap;
• the next promotion has no realistic path; or
• repeated compensation commitments are postponed without a concrete reason,

then your earning constraint may be structural rather than negotiable.

At that point, compare three paths:

1. stay because the current total package and nonfinancial benefits are still attractive;
2. pursue an internal promotion or different role; or
3. test the external job market.

External offers are not automatically better. Compare salary, benefits, commute, flexibility, role quality, stability and future earning potential before moving.

And do not bluff about another offer. If you use a genuine outside offer as leverage, be prepared for the possibility that your current employer will not match it.