Average salary increase when changing jobs: What marketing professionals can expect

There is no single percentage that tells you what salary increase you should receive when changing jobs.

A move can be lateral, promotional, cross-functional, geographically different or a switch between agency, in-house, contract and full-time work. Each of those changes the economics of the offer.

Recent US payroll data does show that people changing employers have been experiencing faster pay growth than people staying with the same employer. ADP’s September 2026 Pay Insights reported year-over-year base-pay growth of 4.8% for job changers versus 3.0% for job stayers. On a gross-pay basis, the figures were 7.3% and 4.4% respectively.

Those are useful labor-market signals, but they are not the same as saying “the average raise for switching jobs is 4.8%.” They measure year-over-year pay growth for groups of workers. They do not isolate the causal effect of one job move or tell a marketer what a new offer should be.

The better approach is to compare the new role with the current market and calculate the change in your own compensation.

How to calculate your salary increase when changing jobs

Use this formula for base salary:

Salary increase % = (new base salary - current base salary) / current base salary x 100

For example, moving from $80,000 to $92,000 is a 15% base-salary increase:

($92,000 - $80,000) / $80,000 x 100 = 15%

That calculation is useful, but it is only the first layer. A new job can change bonus, equity, commission, retirement contributions, health benefits, paid time off and other elements at the same time.

If the packages differ materially, calculate total compensation as well.

What current job-switch data actually tells us

ADP Pay Insights is based on payroll data rather than a one-off opinion survey. Its September 2026 release reported:

Source: ADP Pay Insights, September 2026, https://payinsights.adp.com/

The important conclusion is not that every switch should deliver one specific premium. It is that the current market still shows faster pay growth among workers who change employers.

For an individual marketer, the defensible target depends on whether the new job is actually comparable to the old one.

Six job-change scenarios that produce very different salary outcomes

1. A true lateral move

If the new role has similar scope, level, geography and compensation structure, the comparison is relatively clean.

Your strongest evidence is the current market for that role. If your existing salary is already near the market rate, a dramatic increase may be less realistic. If you are materially below market, a lateral move can still reset your pay.

Use SalaryGuide marketing salaries and the salary benchmarking guide to establish that reference point.

2. A move that is really a promotion

A new employer may give you a different title, but the important question is whether the scope has moved up a level.

Look for changes such as:

• moving from execution to ownership;
• managing a larger budget;
• taking responsibility for a team;
• owning strategy rather than one channel;
• reporting to more senior stakeholders;
• becoming accountable for broader commercial outcomes.

If the role is materially bigger, comparing the offer only with your old salary understates the change. Benchmark the new level directly.

3. Agency to in-house

Agency and in-house roles can have different compensation patterns because the business models and role mixes differ.

Do not assume you are automatically owed a premium for moving in-house. Compare the same discipline and level, then look at bonus, equity and scope. SalaryGuide’s agency vs in-house marketing salary analysis owns that comparison.

4. Employee to contractor

A contractor rate can look much higher than an employee’s hourly equivalent while still producing a similar or lower economic outcome after unpaid time, business overhead and benefits are considered.

Do not call the difference a “salary increase.” Use a comparable annual-value model instead. See marketing contractor vs full-time salary.

5. Moving to a different location or pay market

A move from one city or state to another may change the market rate independently of your skills or seniority.

Remote roles can add another layer because some employers use national pay while others apply geographic zones. Compare the employer’s pay philosophy and the relevant labor market rather than assuming a cost-of-living adjustment is automatic.

6. Switching specialism

Moving from content to product marketing, agency SEO to in-house growth, or social into lifecycle can change your market reference set.

If you are taking on a discipline where you have less direct evidence, the move may be lateral financially even if the long-term opportunity is strong. Conversely, transferable commercial or technical skills can support a higher range if they are directly relevant to the new role.

Compare the new offer with the market, not just your old paycheck

A common negotiation mistake is anchoring entirely on the current salary.

Imagine you earn $75,000 and receive an offer for $86,000. That is a 14.7% increase, which sounds strong in isolation.

But if comparable jobs at the new level are centered around $100,000, the percentage increase does not make the offer competitive.

The reverse is also true. A 5% increase can be reasonable if the move gives you a materially better bonus, equity package, benefits, working arrangement or future scope and the base is already aligned with the market.

The core comparison should be:

new role market value → new total package → change versus current package

not:

current salary → arbitrary target percentage

A practical offer-comparison framework

Before deciding whether the increase is good, score the new offer across these areas:

This prevents a large-looking percentage from distracting you from a weak package, or a smaller base increase from hiding a genuinely better overall opportunity.

What percentage should you ask for?

Do not pick a counteroffer by adding 10%, 15% or 20% to your current salary because those numbers sound conventional.

Build your target from:

• 1. the market range for the new role;
• 2. your position within that range;
• 3. the total compensation structure;
• 4. the scope you are being hired to own;
• 5. any clearly documented trade-offs in the offer.

Then make the case from market evidence and role value.

For the negotiation itself, use how to negotiate your marketing salary.

What if the offer is below your current salary?

A lower salary is not automatically irrational, but the reason should be explicit.

Examples might include:

• changing career direction;
• moving into a role with stronger equity upside;
• deliberately reducing hours or responsibility;
• entering a market with lower pay;
• accepting a package with materially stronger benefits;
• taking a strategic step that builds evidence for a future role.

The key is to understand the cost of the trade rather than telling yourself that title or future opportunity will definitely compensate for it.

The decision rule

A good job-switch increase is not a universal percentage. It is a package that is competitive for the work you are about to do and meaningfully better than your alternatives once all material compensation is considered.

Use job-changer pay-growth statistics as market context, not as a personal entitlement. Your own benchmark should come from the new role, not the old salary.

Source note

ADP Pay Insights, September 2026 release and current Pay Insights data

SalaryGuide salary directory