Who negotiates
How many people actually negotiate their salary?
Despite overwhelming evidence that negotiation works, the majority of workers still don't do it. Fear, discomfort, and lack of information are the three most commonly cited barriers.
Key finding: Only 45% of workers attempt to negotiate their most recent job offer. Among those who did negotiate, 66% received a higher salary. That means roughly 30% of all job seekers successfully negotiated a higher offer — while 55% left money on the table by not trying.
Sources: LinkedIn Salary Report 2024; Pew Research Center, 2023; Glassdoor Economic Research, 2023.
Success rates
What happens when people negotiate?
The data consistently shows that negotiation succeeds far more often than most people expect — and that the feared worst-case scenario (offer rescinded) almost never happens.
| Outcome | Percentage | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Received higher salary | 66% | Salary.com, 2024 |
| Received same salary (employer said no) | 32% | Salary.com, 2024 |
| Offer withdrawn or rescinded | <1% | SHRM, 2023 |
| Employer offered non-salary benefits instead | 28% | CareerBuilder, 2024 |
| Negotiation led to better role/title | 14% | LinkedIn, 2024 |
Note: Percentages from multiple sources and do not sum to 100%. "Received non-salary benefits" and "received higher salary" are not mutually exclusive.
The math on not negotiating: If you accept a $95,000 offer without negotiating, and negotiation would have yielded $103,000, you've lost $8,000 in year one. Over a 40-year career with 3% annual raises, that single missed negotiation compounds to approximately $359,000 in lost lifetime earnings.
Gender breakdown
The gender negotiation gap
Women negotiate less frequently and face different social dynamics when they do. Closing the negotiation gap is one of the most actionable levers for reducing the gender pay gap.
| Metric | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Attempt to negotiate | 39% | 52% |
| Success rate when negotiating | 62% | 70% |
| Average amount negotiated | $5,900 | $9,100 |
| Feel "very comfortable" negotiating | 26% | 43% |
| Report negative reaction from employer | 14% | 7% |
Sources: Pew Research Center, 2023; Lean In Org / McKinsey Women in the Workplace 2023; CareerBuilder, 2024.
Research insight: Studies by Linda Babcock (Carnegie Mellon) show that women who use "communal framing" — positioning their ask as benefiting their team or aligned with market data — face fewer social penalties while achieving comparable negotiation outcomes to men. This is why scripted language matters.
By industry
Negotiation success rates by industry
Negotiation norms vary significantly by sector. Tech and finance have the strongest negotiation cultures — education and non-profit the weakest.
| Industry | Attempt rate | Success rate | Avg gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 68% | 74% | $12,400 |
| Finance & banking | 61% | 71% | $10,200 |
| Engineering | 55% | 67% | $8,900 |
| Healthcare | 48% | 65% | $7,200 |
| Marketing & comms | 44% | 61% | $6,100 |
| Sales | 71% | 69% | $8,400 |
| Education | 29% | 48% | $3,200 |
| Non-profit | 27% | 44% | $2,800 |
Sources: LinkedIn Salary Report 2024; Glassdoor Economic Research, 2024; industry-specific compensation surveys.
Barriers
Why people don't negotiate — and what actually happens
| Reason given for not negotiating | % who cite this reason | What actually happens |
|---|---|---|
| Fear of appearing greedy | 36% | 73% of employers expect negotiation and view it positively |
| Worried offer will be withdrawn | 28% | Rescission rate is under 1% for polite counter offers |
| Don't know how much to ask for | 24% | Market data and tools solve this in under 60 seconds |
| Don't know what to say | 19% | Pre-written scripts remove this barrier entirely |
| Employer said salary is fixed | 16% | Benefits, signing bonus, and PTO remain negotiable in 80%+ of cases |
| Happy with initial offer | 22% | Happiness with an offer is not a reason not to negotiate — you can be happy and still ask |
Sources: Glassdoor, 2023; Salary.com, 2024; CareerBuilder, 2024.
Methodology and sources
The statistics on this page are aggregated from publicly available research published by LinkedIn, Glassdoor Economic Research, CareerBuilder, Pew Research Center, Salary.com, and SHRM between 2022 and 2024. Where studies report ranges, we cite the median or most commonly reported figure. Industry data is drawn from sector-specific compensation surveys. All figures are US-focused unless otherwise stated. We review and update this page quarterly. If you are a journalist or researcher and would like to cite or discuss this data, contact us through our website.