How to Negotiate a Raise With Data: A Step-by-Step Playbook

A practical, numbers-based process for asking for more pay — research, timing, the exact ask and how to handle 'no'.

Step 1: Know your number

Gather three data points: market pay for your role and location (public salary surveys, job postings that list pay ranges), inflation since your last raise, and the measurable value you created. Turn each into dollars. A raise request built on numbers is a business decision for your manager; one built on need is a favor.

Step 2: Choose the timing

The best windows are 4–8 weeks before budgets are set, right after a visible win, or when your responsibilities have clearly grown. The worst are during layoffs or the week of a missed target.

Step 3: Anchor with a specific figure

Ask for a specific number slightly above your target — '$61,500' rather than 'around $60k'. Precise numbers signal research. Anchoring research in negotiation consistently shows that the first credible number shapes the final outcome.

Step 4: Translate the ask

Show your manager what it costs. A move from $55,300 to $59,000 is $3,700 a year — about $308 a month, or less than 7% of base. Use the raise calculator to show the after-tax value to you and keep emotion out of it.

Step 5: Handle 'not now'

• Ask what specific results would justify the raise and by when — get it in writing.
• Negotiate non-salary items: title, remote days, training budget, extra PTO, an earlier review date.
• Set a calendar check-in. If the goalposts move twice, the market is your answer.

Step 6: The outside offer

Changing employers often produces a larger pay increase than staying, because new hires are priced at market. If you use an outside offer as leverage, be prepared to accept it.

Watch: related explainer

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Educational content only — not tax, legal or financial advice. Sources and assumptions: methodology.