Raise requests are getting rarer. Are you asking more than most workers?

You know the moment before a pay conversation. You have the calendar invite, a list of what you did this year, and one question you keep trying to make sound normal: should you actually ask for more money?

The awkward part is that most people do not know what normal is. If you ask, are you being reasonable, bold, or unusually aggressive? The Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking gives a benchmark across an 8-year line. We will get to the newest answer at the end. First, look at how much the asking habit has moved.

The recent high point was not long ago

In the Federal Reserve’s series, the share of workers who asked for a raise rose from 14% in 2018 to 18% in 2019, then fell to 12% in 2020. It climbed again after that, reaching 21% in both 2022 and 2023, before edging down to 20% in 2024.

That history matters because a review can make you feel like everyone else is negotiating harder than you are. The older readings show something more uneven. Asking rose and fell. Receiving a raise stayed much more common than asking for one.

Raises and raise requests are not the same thing

The Federal Reserve separates two actions: workers who asked for a raise, and workers who received one. In 2024, 20% asked, while 52% received. In 2023, 21% asked, while 55% received. In 2022, 21% asked, while 54% received.

That gap is the part to hold in your head before a review. A raise can arrive because of a companywide adjustment, a promotion, a retention move, or a manager’s decision. A raise request is different. It requires you to put a number, a case, or at least a clear ask into the room.

Why this benchmark is bigger than office gossip

This is not a quick poll of people who felt strongly enough to answer. The Federal Reserve says the 2025 SHED was fielded from October 17 through October 28, 2025, and that the final sample used in the report included 12,934 respondents. The sample was designed to be representative of adults age 18 and older living in the United States.

That matters for the pay conversation because your own workplace can distort the comparison. If you sit near a few people who talk openly about money, it can sound like everyone is asking. If your team avoids the topic, it can feel like nobody is. The national benchmark gives you a colder reference point before the room gets personal.

It also reopens the question this story started with. When you actually ask for more money, are you doing what most workers do, or stepping into a smaller group?

So are you asking more than most workers?

In the Federal Reserve’s 2025 SHED, 17% of workers asked for a raise. So if you asked for one in the past year, yes: you asked more than most workers. If you did not ask, you were in the much larger group.

The same figure shows that 50% received a raise, also measured among all workers. That is the comparison that makes the pay conversation feel so strange. Receiving more money was common. Directly asking for it was not.

What this means for you

If you are heading into a review, the benchmark does not say you should ask. It says the ask itself is less common than getting a raise. That can help you name the pressure more accurately. The hard part may not be wanting more money. It may be saying the request clearly while someone is evaluating you.

Prepare the first sentence. Do not start with a long setup. Try: “I’d like to talk about adjusting my compensation based on the scope of my work this year.”
Bring the evidence, not a speech. Three concrete results are easier to say under pressure than a full monologue.
Practice the number out loud. The amount can feel much bigger in your mouth than it looks on paper.
Have a follow-up line ready. If the answer is not yes, ask: “What would need to be true for us to revisit this?”