Over 50% of US Workers Don’t Negotiate Their Starting Salaries — How To Improve Your Offer

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Not negotiating your starting salary at a new job could cause you to miss out on thousands of dollars a year — if not more. Add that amount up over the course of multiple years or decades and you could be losing out on a substantial amount of cash.

More than half (55%) of people don’t negotiate their first salary, according to Resume Genius’ 2025 Salary Negotiation and Expectations Survey of 1,000 full-time U.S. workers. Here are the other key findings of the survey, as well as some well-known strategies for negotiating salaries during the hiring process.

Survey’s Key Findings

Even though more people are starting to negotiate salaries during the hiring process, it’s still not as common as you might think. Roughly 45% of survey respondents negotiate their starting salary, while 55% people simply accept what they’re offered.

Other key findings include:

• Seventy-eight percent of those who negotiate receive a better offer.
• Fifty-one percent get an offer matching what they ask for.
• Just 22% of those who negotiate don’t receive a better offer.

The survey also found that men (51%) are more likely to negotiate than women (39%). Interestingly, when women do negotiate, they often end up getting better results:

• A whopping 82% of women who negotiate get a better offer, compared to 76% of men.
• Fifty-four percent of women who negotiate receive a matching offer, compared to 50% of men.

Age appears to play a role in people’s willingness to negotiate their starting salary, as well:

• Fifty-five percent of Gen Z negotiate.
• Forty-eight percent of millennials negotiate.
• Forty-two percent of Gen X and baby boomers negotiate.

Again, the majority of people who negotiate get a higher starting salary.

Best Strategies for Negotiating Your Salary

Perhaps unsurprisingly, most people (57%) regret either not negotiating or asking for more during the process. Nearly a third (30%) say they wish they’d negotiated more, but still felt it was the best decision at the time. About a quarter (27%) of those who didn’t negotiate at all regret not doing so.

If you feel like you deserve a certain starting salary but aren’t sure how to go about it, here are some top strategies to consider:

• Know What You’re Worth. Before going to a job interview or applying for a job with a low salary, make a list of the experience and skills you can talk about. Look into typical salaries in your area based on experience.
• Compare Salaries. Use a site like Glassdoor or Payscale to find what companies in your industry and area are offering.
• Know Your Rights. Pay transparency laws exist to help you get a fair offer. Check with the U.S. Department of Labor or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to see the state or regional laws.
• Use Tact When Discussing Salary. If the interviewer asks what you expect, tell them you’re willing to negotiate or are comfortable with the listed salary range. If they don’t have a range, ask about their budget.
• Be Prepared To Demonstrate Your Worth. This means preparing before the interview. Conduct mock interviews with a friend about how your experiences align with the job — and make you the best candidate (and worth a higher salary).
• Come With Your Own Salary Range. Sometimes, you might have to come to the table with your acceptable minimum salary. Give a range of the salary you’d accept based on your experience and what other companies are offering.
• Don’t Overshare. Keep your previous or current salary to yourself. Otherwise, a potential employer might use that to give you a lowball offer.
• Be Open To Negotiate. If you receive a low offer but still want to proceed with the opportunity, see if you can bridge the gap. If the company can’t increase the base pay, consider other compensation — like stock options or retirement contributions. These can add up, too.

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