Technology
Current benchmark average: 4.8%. Sectors with scarce technical talent and expensive replacement costs continue to lead the table.
Industry Benchmarks
Industry pay raise benchmarks by sector
Use this page to compare raise expectations across major sectors, understand what the benchmark numbers can and cannot tell you, and turn a broad industry average into a more practical compensation conversation.
Industry data is most useful when you need context fast: before an annual review, during a promotion discussion, or when a proposed raise feels vague and you want a cleaner external reference point. The table below compares recent benchmark ranges and the sections that follow explain how to interpret them without oversimplifying your situation.
Government
Current benchmark average: 3.0%. Lower averages do not automatically mean unfair pay, but they often reflect tighter budgets and more policy-driven compensation cycles.
3
A smaller group of sectors still clears the 4% threshold. That usually signals a tighter labor market, stronger retention pressure, or more promotion-driven pay movement than the broad market average.
Benchmarks
Pay raise benchmarks by industry
Use benchmark data as context, not a substitute for scope, tenure, and performance. Strong raises depend on both market conditions and how much your role has expanded.
| Industry | Average Raise 2023 | Average Raise 2024 | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 4.4% | 4.8% | AI hiring pressure and retention budgets continue to push merit cycles above the broad-market median. |
| Healthcare | 3.9% | 4.2% | Persistent staffing shortages keep healthcare raises competitive, especially for hard-to-fill roles. |
| Finance | 3.6% | 3.9% | Compensation is stable, but raises cluster around performance and bonus-adjusted packages. |
| Manufacturing | 3.3% | 3.7% | Skilled trade shortages and reshoring investment are helping pay increases stay above pre-pandemic norms. |
| Professional Services | 3.5% | 3.8% | Consulting, legal, and advisory firms are keeping raises tied closely to utilization and client-demand resilience. |
| Logistics | 3.2% | 3.5% | Supply-chain stabilization cooled the pace slightly, but specialized operations talent remains expensive to replace. |
| Education | 2.9% | 3.1% | Budget cycles constrain salary growth, so cost-of-living adjustments matter more than outsized merit increases. |
| Retail | 2.8% | 3.0% | Margins remain tight, which keeps raises close to inflation-sensitive baseline adjustments. |
| Engineering | 4.1% | 4.5% | Specialized engineering talent still commands stronger raises tied to impact, certifications, and promotion tracks. |
| Construction | 3.4% | 3.8% | Project backlogs and labor shortages are pushing compensation up for experienced supervisors and technical specialists. |
| Government | 2.7% | 3.0% | Raises remain policy-driven and predictable, with strong variance depending on locality adjustments and union coverage. |
| Hospitality | 3.0% | 3.3% | Staffing competition keeps hourly and supervisory raises moving, especially in high-turnover markets. |
Source reference: Mercer 2024 Salary Survey. The calculator uses Mercer 2024 survey language for benchmark framing and keeps the numbers visible so users can compare their own raise quickly.
How to read benchmark tables correctly
Benchmark tables work best as calibration tools. If your raise is materially below the average in your sector, that is a signal to investigate whether the issue is market conditions, job level, timing, or internal compensation policy. If your raise is above the benchmark, that does not automatically mean it is generous. It may simply mean your salary was previously below market, or that the company is adjusting for a promotion or retention risk.
The 2023 versus 2024 comparison matters because it shows whether pressure in a sector is intensifying or cooling. Technology, engineering, healthcare, and skilled operational roles remain elevated because replacing talent is expensive. Education, government, and some retail segments remain more budget constrained, so raises cluster closer to cost-of-living territory. That does not make one raise fair and another unfair by itself. It simply provides context for the discussion.
Data source framing on this site is based on Mercer 2024 salary survey language, then organized into a practical comparison format for readers. The table is designed for orientation, not legal or compensation-policy certainty. The right move is to pair benchmark context with your actual number in the pay raise calculator, then use the exact annual and monthly impact as the center of the decision.
The most useful way to read the table is to treat each row as a starting point for a more specific comparison. Industry averages hide differences in level, geography, company size, and performance. A software engineer in San Francisco and an operations coordinator in Phoenix should not expect the same compensation pattern even if their employers both describe the increase as a normal annual raise.
If you see a gap between your number and the benchmark, the next step is not to cite the table alone. Pair it with your actual salary delta, scope expansion, retention risk, and current market demand. That turns the benchmark from generic content into a practical negotiation input. You can then pressure-test the impact with the broader salary benchmark page or move into the salary increase guide if you need talking points and scripts.
Interpretation Framework
Why some industries cluster higher than others
Sectors do not produce higher raises by accident. The underlying pattern usually comes from labor scarcity, replacement cost, revenue sensitivity, union or policy constraints, and how much compensation depends on base salary versus bonus or commission.
Tight-talent sectors
Technology, engineering, and specialized healthcare roles often sit higher because the cost of losing experienced people is immediate. Hiring can be slow, onboarding is expensive, and the market moves fast enough that companies sometimes pay more to retain proven performers than to replace them.
Budget-constrained sectors
Education, government, and many retail environments often run on narrower or more formula-driven compensation cycles. Raises can still be fair inside those systems, but they usually leave less room for outsized merit movement unless a promotion, locality change, or retention event forces a separate adjustment.
Bonus-heavy sectors
Finance, consulting, and some professional-services roles can look modest on base salary raises because more of the compensation story sits in bonus design, deal economics, or performance distribution. A lower base-pay increase is not always the whole package, which is why total compensation context matters more here than in a flatter salary structure.
Operational shortage sectors
Manufacturing, logistics, construction, and hospitality often reflect a different pressure pattern: physical operations cannot pause for long, frontline turnover is expensive, and experienced supervisors or technical specialists can be difficult to replace. That tends to keep raises above purely cost-of-living territory in the stronger pockets of those markets.
Workflow
A practical way to use this data before a raise conversation
Step 1
Find your sector baseline
Use the table to identify the broad range for your industry. Treat it as orientation, not a final answer.
Step 2
Translate your own number
Run the exact raise through the pay raise calculator so you can compare headline percentages with annual and monthly dollars.
Step 3
Pressure-test against broader data
Check the salary benchmarks page for regional, performance, and company-size context that industry averages miss.
Step 4
Turn it into a negotiation case
Use the salary increase guide to connect the external benchmark to your scope, results, and ask.
Raise Prep
What to bring into a benchmark-based pay discussion
Benchmark tables become much more persuasive when they sit next to facts about your own role. Bring your current base salary, the proposed raise, the level or title you are operating at, any scope expansion from the last review cycle, and recent examples of measurable impact. If you have market evidence such as job postings, recruiter signals, or internal pay-range context, use that to narrow the comparison further.
The strongest use of industry data is not to say, "The average is 4.2%, so I deserve 4.2%." It is to show that your current number looks low relative to the broader market and then explain why your specific role, contribution, or retention risk supports a stronger adjustment. That is how benchmark data shifts from trivia to leverage.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about industry benchmarks
What is a good raise by industry?
A good raise depends on the sector, role level, location, and reason for the increase. Industry benchmarks help set context, but the best comparison still combines scope, market demand, and whether the raise moves your pay closer to the range for the job you actually perform.
Should I use industry averages during a raise negotiation?
Yes, but only as one input. Use the benchmark to show the external context, then connect it to your own salary, changed responsibilities, retention risk, and recent results. Benchmarks are strongest when they support a specific business case instead of standing alone.
Why can two people in the same industry get very different raises?
Industry averages compress many variables. Geography, tenure, company size, job function, promotion timing, union coverage, performance ratings, bonus structure, and labor-market tightness can all change the final number materially even inside the same sector.
What should I do after checking an industry benchmark?
Translate the benchmark into your own dollar outcome, compare it with the salary range for your role, and decide whether the raise is routine, strong, or still below market. PayRaiseCalc tools can then help you model take-home impact, benchmark context, and negotiation preparation.
Related Pages
Continue with the right compensation tool
Salary BenchmarksCompare raise context by company size, performance band, job function, and region.Salary Increase GuideTurn benchmark context into an actual raise conversation with scripts and timing tips.Salary Tax CalculatorCheck what a stronger raise looks like after federal, state, and payroll deductions.Compensation BlogRead supporting articles on inflation, merit cycles, promotion raises, and market pay.