Raise Ask Calculator

Three baseline facts. Time since your last raise is the biggest lever — longer means more inflation drag and more missed merit increases. Years in role drives the pay-compression check: long tenure without an adjustment is a real, defensible argument.

The single most powerful piece of evidence in a raise conversation. "The market pays X and I make Y" is far more persuasive than inflation math. Look up the median for your title + experience + location on Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, Payscale, or the BLS Occupational Employment dataset.

Inflation rate — recent annual CPI change. US 10-year average is around 3%. Typical raise rate — the average annual increase companies give for "meets expectations" performance (historically 3–4%). This already contains some inflation, which is why we call this benchmark "typical salary progression" rather than treating merit and inflation as fully independent.

One of the most common reasons people are underpaid: responsibilities grow without compensation catching up. Has your scope materially expanded since your last raise? Direct reports added, project ownership expanded, scope of decisions widened, took on responsibilities of a more senior role.

Be honest. This multiplier scales your target ask. Claiming "exceeds" without documented performance reviews undermines the rest of your case — stick to what's been formally recognized.

Open with is your opening number — gives room to negotiate down. Target is a fair adjustment given the math. Walkaway is the inflation-adjusted floor: anything less and you're going backwards in real terms. These are scenario numbers, not predictions — your employer's response depends on budget, internal equity, and many things this math can't see.

Five independent benchmarks. We pick the highest one as the baseline (max, not sum — to stay conservative and defensible), then apply your performance multiplier. The benchmark with the biggest gap from your current salary is marked as the primary driver — that's the one you lead with in the conversation.