How to negotiate a raise with data (and what number to ask for)
Most raise conversations fail for the same reason: the number isn’t anchored to anything outside your own opinion. Public government pay data gives you that anchor. Here’s the method we built Outpaid around.
1. Find your percentile, not just the average
An average hides the spread. Compare your base pay with the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles for your job in your metro. If you’re under the median, you have a market case. If you’re between the median and the 75th percentile, you have a performance case.
2. Set the target at the 75th percentile
The 75th percentile is ambitious and defensible: a quarter of people in your job and metro already earn it. Here is the national gap between median and 75th percentile for a few common jobs (BLS, all employers):
| Job | Median | 75th pct | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | $135,980 | $171,980 | $36,000 |
| Registered Nurses | $97,550 | $112,350 | $14,800 |
| Accountants and Auditors | $83,680 | $109,810 | $26,130 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $123,860 | $166,100 | $42,240 |
| Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses | $64,400 | $76,030 | $11,630 |
3. Bring evidence your manager can check
Use sources anyone can verify: BLS OEWS for the whole market and, where it exists, your own employer’s DOL LCA filings, the base wages it reported for sponsored positions in your role. Each LCA filing has a public case number. That’s much harder to dismiss than a crowdsourced screenshot.
4. Use a short script
“Based on BLS data for [job] in [metro] and the wages [employer] has filed for this role, the 75th percentile is [target]. Given [two concrete results], I’d like to move my base to [target]. Can we get there this cycle?” Then stop talking. If the answer is no, ask what would need to be true, and by when.
5. Know what the data doesn’t cover
These are base wages only: no bonus, equity or benefits. BLS mixes all experience levels, and LCA filings cover visa-sponsored positions only. Name these limits yourself; it makes the rest of your case more credible.
- Run the free check (30 seconds) →
- Raise calculator: the 5-year cost of not asking →
- See a sample Dossier: target, filings and script →
- How we calculate →
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; U.S. Department of Labor OFLC LCA disclosure data, FY2026 Q3 (certified, full-time). Base wages only. Not financial advice.
Were you outpaid?
Your salary is ranked in your browser and never uploaded.
Turn your result into a raise plan.
Run the free check first. If you want to act on it, the Dossier turns your result into a target number (the 75th percentile for your job and metro), the employers that report paying more (where filing data exists), a raise or counter-offer script filled in with your numbers, and a one-page summary for your manager.
- ✓ Built from BLS and DOL data
- ✓ PDF generated in your browser
- ✓ 7-day money-back guarantee
More guides
- LPN salary by state: licensed practical nurse pay in every state, ranked
- CNA salary by state: nursing assistant pay in every state, ranked
- The highest-paying H-1B sponsors, ranked by filed base wage
- Registered nurse salary by city: RN pay in 10 major U.S. metros, ranked
- Amazon vs Google vs Microsoft vs Meta vs Apple: software engineer pay, from government filings
- The top-paying employers for software developers in Seattle