How to Ask for a Raise: Using Wage-Growth and Inflation Data to Set Your Number

A raise request has two separate arguments, and it helps to keep them apart. One is about keeping up: is your pay holding its value against prices and against what the market pays for your job? The other is about moving up: are you doing more, or doing it better, than when your pay was last set? Official US data can settle much of the first argument. The second is about your own record.

What a typical raise is, and what it is worth

The Employment Cost Index (ECI), published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), tracks how much employers pay for the same set of jobs over time. It is the closest official measure of an "average raise" for staying in the same kind of work.

12 months to	Wages and salaries (ECI)
March 2025	+3.4%
June 2025	+3.5%
September 2025	+3.6%
December 2025	+3.3%
March 2026	+3.4%
June 2026	+3.1%
Consumer prices (CPI-U), June 2025 to June 2026	+3.5%
Wages and salaries after inflation (ECI, constant dollars), June 2025 to June 2026	-0.4%

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index (ECI), wages and salaries for private industry workers, 12-month percent change (series CIU2020000000000A) and constant-dollar index (CIU2020000000000T); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), US city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted (series CUUR0000SA0): index 322.561 in June 2025 and 333.952 in June 2026. The ECI tracks the cost of a fixed set of jobs, so it measures pay growth for the same work, not changes caused by people moving into better-paid jobs.

In the 12 months to June 2026, private-sector wages and salaries grew 3.1%. Over the same period consumer prices, measured by the CPI-U, rose 3.5%. BLS's inflation-adjusted version of the index fell 0.4%. In other words, a raise equal to the average was a small pay cut in real terms over that year.

A worked example. On a $60,000 salary, a 3.1% raise takes you to $61,860. Keeping pace with the 3.5% rise in the CPI-U over the same 12 months would have needed about $62,119 (60,000 × 333.952 / 322.561, the June 2026 and June 2025 index values). In this example the gap is about $259 a year. The figures are illustrative arithmetic on official indexes; your own costs may have risen more or less than the national average.

Two cautions. The ECI measures the same jobs, so it does not capture the bigger jumps people often get from a promotion or from changing employer. And inflation measured over a different 12 months gives a different answer, so use the latest figures when you make your case; they are on the BLS pages linked under the table.

Check where your pay sits in the market

The second half of the "keeping up" argument is the market rate. Look up your occupation in our US wage data table and note the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile. If you have several years of experience and your pay is below the 25th percentile, or below the median for your state, that is the strongest objective case you can make. Our guide to checking whether you are underpaid walks through the comparison step by step, including the state adjustment.

Remember that the BLS figures are base pay. If your employer pays a regular bonus or more overtime than is typical, compare like with like.

Build the "moving up" case

For the part of the request that is about your contribution, collect evidence before the meeting:

• Scope. Has the job grown since your pay was set? More people managed, a larger budget, new systems or clients you are now responsible for.
• Results. Measurable outcomes over the last year: revenue, savings, deadlines met, error rates reduced. Specific numbers from your own work are far more persuasive than effort or loyalty.
• Comparisons. If the job you now do matches a higher-paid occupation or grade, say so. A move from "accountant" work to "financial manager" work is a different pay band entirely: the BLS medians are $83,680 and $166,570.

Time it

Ask before pay decisions are made, not after. In many organisations that means a few weeks before the annual budget or review cycle. Ask your manager when pay decisions are made and who approves them; a manager who must take your case to someone else needs time and written material.

Make a specific request

Ask for a number or a percentage, with the reason attached. For example: "Over the past year my pay has fallen behind both inflation and the market. The BLS median for this occupation in our state is X and I am at Y. Given the added responsibility for Z, I am asking for an increase to W."

A specific number is easier to approve or counter than "a raise". If the figure is large, you can propose reaching it in two steps with a date for the second.

If the answer is no

Ask what would need to be true for a raise to be approved, and when it could next be considered. Agree measurable criteria and a date, and confirm them in an email afterwards. If the reason is budget, ask about one-off items that come from a different budget: a bonus, training, a title change or more paid leave.

If the employer cannot or will not pay the market rate for the work you do, that is useful information too. The most reliable way to reset pay is often an external offer, but use that lever only if you are prepared to leave.

Key takeaways

• Over the 12 months to June 2026, average private-sector wage growth (3.1%) was below inflation (3.5%), so an average raise lost purchasing power.
• Compare your pay with the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile for your occupation and state.
• Separate the "keeping up" argument (data) from the "moving up" argument (your results and scope).
• Ask for a specific number before budgets are set, and put any agreement or criteria in writing.