We Reviewed Every Salary Negotiation Study from 2024-2025 – Here’s What Actually Works

What if we told you that most people are leaving thousands of dollars on the table every time they get a job offer?

Here’s the reality: Research consistently shows that salary negotiation works, yet the majority of workers still walk away from money that’s rightfully theirs. Despite overwhelming evidence that asking for more actually gets results, 55% of job candidates don’t even try to negotiate their starting salary.

We dove deep into every major salary negotiation study published in 2024 and 2025 to separate fact from fiction. What we found will change how you think about asking for more money. From Harvard Business School research to National Bureau of Economic Research findings, the data reveals exactly which tactics work—and which ones backfire spectacularly.

The bottom line? People who negotiate their salary get an average of 18.83% more than those who accept the first offer. Some even secure increases of up to 100%. But here’s what most people don’t know: the strategies that actually work aren’t what you’d expect.

Ready to discover what the research really says? Let’s break down the five game-changing findings that will transform your next salary negotiation. And if you’re ready to take action, check out our salary negotiation email templates to put these insights into practice.

The Numbers Don’t Lie – Here’s What Recent Studies Actually Show

The data from 2024-2025 is eye-opening. According to recent research, people who negotiated their salary received an average increase of 18.83% from their original offers. The lowest reported increase was 5%, while some negotiators secured 100% salary bumps.

But here’s the kicker: Most U.S. workers say they did not ask for higher pay the last time they were hired for a job, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Specifically, more than half (55%) of job candidates do not try to negotiate their salary, even though 73% of job candidates feel that salary is the most important factor when considering a job offer.

For those brave enough to negotiate, the success rate is impressive. According to the Pew Research Center survey, approximately 66% of U.S. workers who made attempts to negotiate starting salaries said they got what they were asking for.

The gender story is particularly fascinating. Contrary to popular belief, women reported negotiating salary more often than men: 54% of women said they did, while 44% of men did in a 2024 study of business school graduates. And in a survey of nearly 2,000 B-school alumni, Kray and colleagues found that 64% of women and 59% of men reported negotiating for promotions or higher compensation.

The research from Harvard Business School and the National Bureau of Economic Research adds another crucial insight: a light-touch encouragement intervention significantly increased both negotiation attempts and compensation gains. In other words, simply being told that negotiation is normal and expected dramatically improves outcomes.

Interview Guys Tip: The biggest mistake isn’t negotiating poorly—it’s not negotiating at all. Even a modest 5% increase compounds to significant lifetime earnings over your career.

What Our Research Analysis Says Actually Works in 2025

After reviewing dozens of studies, we identified five strategies that consistently deliver results. These aren’t feel-good theories—they’re tactics backed by hard data.

Strategy #1 – Anchoring High (But Smart)

The anchoring effect is powerful, and recent research proves it works in salary negotiations. University of Idaho tested this premise on 200 students, all asked to act as though they were managers making a job offer to a pre-approved candidate. The results? If a candidate had asked for $100,000, he or she was offered an average of $35,383, compared to $32,463 in the control group.

But here’s the key: you don’t need to be ridiculous about it. Rather than saying, “I think I deserve $80,000,” consider saying, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve heard that people like me typically earn $80,000 to $90,000”. This approach anchors high while appearing reasonable and research-based.

Strategy #2 – The Competing-Collaborative Hybrid

This is where the research gets really interesting. Those who chose to negotiate salary, rather than accepting the offer on the table, increased their starting pay by an average of $5,000, primarily by using competing and collaborating strategies.

The study found five negotiation styles: collaborating, competing, accommodating, compromising, and avoiding. Here’s what works: Those who behaved competitively did better than those who focused on collaboration, but collaborators were more satisfied than competitive bargainers with the negotiation process.

The sweet spot? Combine both approaches. Be competitive about the outcome you want, but collaborative in how you get there. Think of it as “firm on the goal, flexible on the path.”

Want to master this balance? Our behavioral interview matrix teaches similar strategic thinking that applies perfectly to salary negotiations.

Strategy #3 – Leveraging Pay Transparency

Pay transparency laws are changing the negotiation game, and smart negotiators are using this to their advantage. Researchers from the University of California San Diego, University of Southern California, and Emsi Burning Glass (now Lightcast) examined the impact of Colorado’s pay transparency law, which requires wage information on job postings. They found that Colorado’s policy led to a 3.6 percent increase, on average, in posted salaries after going into effect.

Here’s how to use this: Research salary ranges from companies in states with transparency laws, even if you’re not applying there. This gives you concrete, recent data to reference in negotiations. Research has also found that when women know what to expect from these negotiations, gender differences diminish.

Interview Guys Tip: Research shows that when negotiators have objective salary information, gender differences in negotiation outcomes virtually disappear. Information is power—use it.

Strategy #4 – The Information Advantage

Negotiation research reveals that when objective information is available prior to a pay-raise negotiation, such as the salaries of colleagues and peers in the same industry, women perform better at the bargaining table. But this applies to everyone, not just women.

The key is gathering multiple data points:

• Salary ranges from transparency-required job postings
• Industry reports from sites like PayScale and levels.fyi
• Professional network insights
• Competing offers (when available)

Strategy #5 – Timing It Right

Start bringing up your ask with your manager early in 2025. “You need to start this conversation before you’re desperate for an answer,” says Fragale, and before you “really start to feel bitter” that you’re not being compensated fairly.

Why? Even if your boss thinks you deserve that raise immediately, they will often have “to go negotiate with someone else on your behalf,” she says. “And that can’t happen instantly”.

The research-backed approach: Bring up your raise as early in the year as you feel is appropriate, then ask, “when should I follow up with you about this again?”

Need help crafting the perfect ask? Our guide on answering salary expectations questions provides the exact language that works.

Interview Guys Tip: Start salary conversations at least 3-4 months before you need an answer. This gives your manager time to work through internal approval processes and shows you’re thinking strategically, not desperately.

When and How to Start the Conversation

Timing isn’t everything, but it’s close. The research reveals specific patterns about when and how to initiate salary discussions for maximum impact.

The “Before You’re Desperate” Rule

A majority, 56% of U.S. workers are looking for a new job or plan to in 2025, according to an October 2024 Resume Templates survey of 1,258 U.S. workers. Their reasons vary: 37% feel undervalued, another 37% feel burned out and 40% cite low pay.

Don’t wait until you’re in that frustrated 37%. Proactive negotiation beats reactive negotiation every time.

The Information Advantage in Practice

With pay transparency laws expanding—about 15 states will have pay transparency laws by November 2025—you have more salary data than ever before. Use it strategically:

1. Research first: The Bureau of Labor Statistics and sites like Levels.fyi, ZipRecruiter and Payscale all list salary ranges and averages for various jobs and industries
2. Frame your ask: Use ranges rather than single numbers
3. Reference market data: Ground your request in objective information

The Tactics That Backfire (And Why Most Advice Is Wrong)

Not all negotiation advice is created equal. Our research review revealed several tactics that consistently fail—and some that can actually hurt your chances.

What Doesn’t Work

By contrast, compromising and accommodating strategies were not linked to salary gains. Translation? Being overly agreeable or splitting the difference doesn’t get you more money.

The “grateful employee” myth is particularly damaging. Research shows that expressing excessive gratitude or downplaying your worth doesn’t make employers more generous—it signals that you don’t understand your value.

The “they’ll rescind the offer” fear is largely unfounded. Our research shows this is exceptionally rare when negotiations are conducted professionally and reasonably.

Gender-Specific Findings

The data reveals interesting gender dynamics. Male evaluators penalized female candidates more than male candidates for initiating negotiations; female evaluators penalized all candidates for initiating negotiations. However, there was no gender difference when evaluator was female in terms of candidates’ willingness to negotiate.

The solution? Focus on the strategies that work universally: anchoring with data, using collaborative-competitive approaches, and timing your asks strategically.

Your Next Steps

The research is clear: negotiating your salary works, and specific strategies work better than others. Here’s what the data tells us works best:

Remember the 18.83% average increase that negotiators achieve. Even if you only secure half that amount, you’re still talking about significant money over your career.

Use the competing-collaborative hybrid approach: Be firm about your goals but flexible about how you achieve them. Anchor high with market data, not arbitrary numbers.

Start early: Don’t wait until you’re desperate or frustrated. Begin salary conversations months before you need results.

Most importantly, stop leaving money on the table. The biggest risk isn’t that your negotiation will fail—it’s that you’ll never try in the first place.

The research has spoken. The question is: will you listen?

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