Average Salary Increase When Switching Jobs: What the Data Actually Shows
Workers who stay in the same role for three or more years earn, on average, 50% less over their lifetime than those who move regularly — a figure that has circulated widely since the Forbes analysis of BLS data from the early 2010s. Whether or not you accept that exact number, the directional truth holds: job-switchers consistently out-earn job-stayers. The question is by how much, and whether your specific offer clears the threshold worth acting on.
What the data says about the average salary increase when switching jobs
Three data sources give the clearest picture of switcher pay gains at scale.
ADP Research Institute tracks actual payroll data across millions of US workers. Its 2024 figures show that job-changers received median wage growth of around 10% year-over-year, compared to roughly 5–6% for workers who stayed in the same job. That gap has narrowed since the 2021–2022 "Great Resignation" peak, when switcher wage growth briefly hit 16–17%, but the structural premium for moving remains real.
LinkedIn's Workforce Report has consistently shown a 10–20% pay increase as the typical band for lateral-to-upward moves in professional roles. The lower end (10–12%) applies to same-level moves within a sector; the upper end (18–20%+) applies to moves that involve a step up in seniority, a switch to a higher-paying industry, or relocation to a higher cost-of-labour city.
BLS JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) doesn't publish pay figures directly, but quits data provides useful context: quit rates in professional and business services have consistently run higher than the economy-wide average, and workers quit precisely when external offers are better. The correlation between elevated quit rates and strong external wage premiums is well-established in labour economics.
Taken together, the reasonable working assumption is: 10–20% is the typical increase for a planned, deliberate job switch. Anything below 10% deserves scrutiny. Anything above 20% is achievable but usually requires a role step-up, not just a lateral move.
Why job-switchers earn more than job-stayers
Internal pay adjustments are structurally capped. Most large employers run annual merit cycles that award 2–5% increases to employees rated "meets expectations" or above. Even high performers in formal review systems rarely receive more than 8–10% in a single cycle, and many organisations have explicit pay band ceilings that limit how far a manager can promote someone without a formal regrading process.
External hiring bypasses all of that. A new employer prices a candidate against the external market — and against competing offers. They have no sunk cost in your current salary. They're also paying a premium to pull you away from employment security. That's why external offers routinely clear the internal ceiling.
There's also a compounding effect. If you accept a below-market internal adjustment for two or three years running, your base drifts further from the market median. A single external move can reset that drift — but the catch is that some employers anchor new offers to your current salary rather than to market data, which is one reason how to negotiate your next offer matters as much as knowing the numbers.
How the increase varies by sector, seniority, and location
The 10–20% headline average conceals significant variation.
By sector: Technology and finance historically show the widest switcher premiums, partly because of equity compensation, which isn't captured in base salary comparisons. In healthcare and public sector roles, premiums are compressed by regulated pay scales. According to ONS ASHE 2024, median gross annual earnings for full-time UK software developers sit around £55,000 nationally, but p75 earners in London reach £80,000+. Moving from a national-rate employer to a London-market employer can produce a 30–40% step even with no change in title.
By seniority: Entry and mid-level roles see the most consistent switcher premiums because the external market for those skills is liquid. Senior and executive roles have thinner markets; premiums exist but are harder to benchmark because total compensation (equity, bonus, carried interest) varies so widely.
By location: US workers in high-cost metros (San Francisco, New York, Seattle) historically command 20–30% premiums over national medians for equivalent roles, per BLS OEWS data. In Germany, Destatis earnings structure data shows significant spreads between Munich/Frankfurt and eastern Länder for equivalent professional roles. These location differentials mean a relocation combined with a job switch can produce pay increases well above 20% without any seniority change.
For a structured way to think through all the components, how to evaluate a job offer breaks down base, bonus, equity, and benefits in one framework.
When a 10–20% increase is not enough
The raw percentage isn't the full picture. Three situations exist where 15% on paper translates to no real gain:
Higher cost of living. A 15% base increase that comes with a move from Manchester to London leaves you materially worse off after housing costs. According to ONS ASHE 2024, median full-time gross pay in London is roughly 27% above the UK median — but average private rent in London runs more than double the national average.
Loss of unvested equity. If you're 18 months into a 4-year vesting schedule and the unvested portion is worth 30% of your annual base, a 15% increase at a new employer needs to be evaluated against that walkaway cost, not just against your current cash salary.
Weaker benefits or pension contributions. UK employer pension contributions under auto-enrolment minimum are 3%; many large employers contribute 6–10%. A salary increase that comes with a cut in employer contributions can reduce total compensation even when the headline number looks better.
For a more detailed take on how much uplift actually justifies the disruption of a move, how much salary increase to change jobs covers the break-even analysis including transition costs.
How to benchmark your specific offer against market data
Knowing the average switcher premium tells you what to expect from the process. It doesn't tell you whether your actual offer is priced correctly for your role, level, and location. Those are separate questions.
The right comparison is your offer versus the market rate for that specific job — not versus your current salary, and not versus a national average that might not apply to your sector or geography. Market salary benchmarks covers the data sources by country and role type.
The sources that matter for this:
- US: BLS OEWS publishes annual p10/p25/median/p75/p90 wage data by occupation and metro area
- UK: ONS ASHE provides the same percentile structure by occupation and region, updated annually
- Germany: Destatis earnings structure survey covers gross hourly and annual earnings by sector and qualification level
- Netherlands: CBS labour accounts provide breakdowns by sector and occupation
- Australia: ABS publishes earnings by occupation and state
Running your offer against percentile benchmarks tells you whether you're being offered p50 or p75 for your role — which is a more actionable number than knowing the average switcher earns 14% more than they did before.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 10% salary increase worth switching jobs for?
It depends on your starting point. If your current salary is already at or above the market median, 10% keeps you in the same relative position — it's fair but not compelling. If your current salary is below median (which is common after several years without an external move), 10% might not close the gap. Run the offer against market salary benchmarks before deciding.
Do job-switchers always earn more than job-stayers?
On average, yes — but not in every case. Workers who switch into declining sectors, take lateral moves with no leverage, or accept below-market offers because they anchored to their existing salary can end up worse off in real terms. The premium comes from moving deliberately, with data, not just from moving.
How much do salary increases compound over time if you switch every few years?
The compounding is real but depends on whether each move benchmarks correctly. A worker who switches every three to four years and captures a 15% increase each time will materially outpace a worker receiving 3–4% annual merit increases over the same period, even accounting for transition costs and short-term uncertainty.
What counts as a "good" salary increase when switching jobs?
10% is the floor for a lateral move at the same level. 15–20% is typical for a move that involves any step up in scope or responsibility. Below 10% requires a strong non-salary rationale — better equity, more senior title, strategic sector move — to make sense. Above 20% is achievable, particularly in tech and finance, but warrants checking whether the new employer's base pay is genuinely above market or whether the premium is replacing benefits you're giving up.
The average salary increase when switching jobs runs 10–20%, but the average tells you nothing about your specific offer. A data-grounded verdict requires comparing your offer against the actual market rate for your role, level, and location — not against what you currently earn. CompVerdict — evaluate your next offer benchmarks your full package (base, bonus, equity) against ONS, BLS, Destatis, and nine other official government datasets in under 30 seconds, for free, with no sign-up. If you have an offer in hand, run it before you respond.