Pay Raise Calculator
Find your new pay from a percentage or flat raise, the percent between two salaries, and how much of the raise is left after inflation.
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About this toolWhat is the Pay Raise Calculator?
A raise is quoted three ways: as a percentage ("you are getting 4%"), as an amount ("an extra $2,000") or as a new figure ("your salary will be $68,000"). The Pay Raise Calculator takes whichever one you have and works out the other two, for an annual salary or an hourly wage.
Add an inflation rate and it also shows the real raise, the part of the increase that survives rising prices. A 3% raise in a year of 4% inflation looks like a gain on paper but buys less than last year's pay did.
The before-and-after panel turns the raise into the numbers you actually notice: extra per year, per month, per bi-weekly paycheck and per hour.
- Three modes: by percent, by amount, or between two salaries
- Annual salary or hourly wage
- Real raise after inflation with the exact formula
- Extra per year, month, paycheck and hour
- Copy and share link, currency selector
How to use the Pay Raise Calculator
- Choose what you know: Raise %, Raise amount, or Old and new pay.
- Choose Annual salary or Hourly wage and enter your current pay.
- Enter the raise percentage, the raise amount, or the new pay, depending on the mode. A negative percentage models a pay cut.
- Optionally enter last year's inflation rate to see the real raise and the new pay at last year's prices. Leave it blank to skip.
- Read the new pay, the raise percentage and the before-and-after breakdown, then copy or share the result.
Worked examples
5% on a $60,000 salary with 3% inflation
Input
Raise %, annual salary 60,000, raise 5%, inflation 3%
Output
New pay 63,000; raise 3,000 (250.00 a month); real raise 1.94%; 61,165.05 at last year's prices
Prices rose 3%, so 63,000 next year buys what 61,165.05 buys now. The raise is real, but smaller than it looks.
Hourly raise of $1.50
Input
Raise amount, hourly wage 25.00, raise 1.50, 40 h/week
Output
New rate 26.50 an hour; 6.00% raise; 55,120 a year (+3,120)
A small hourly change is worth knowing in annual terms: 1.50 x 2,080 hours is 3,120 a year.
Percent between two offers
Input
Old and new pay, 72,000 to 80,000
Output
11.11% raise; 8,000 more a year
The percentage is calculated on the old salary. Reverse the two numbers and the answer becomes a 10% cut.
Background and insight
The percentage is always measured against the old pay: raise % = (new - old) / old x 100. This matters when comparing offers. Going from $72,000 to $80,000 is an 11.11% raise, while going back from $80,000 to $72,000 is a 10% cut. The dollar gap is the same; the base is not.
The real raise uses the Fisher relation: (1 + nominal raise) / (1 + inflation) - 1. A 5% raise with 3% inflation is 1.05 / 1.03 - 1 = 1.94%, not the 2% you get by subtracting. The difference is small at low rates and grows when inflation is high. For the inflation figure, use your country's consumer price index over the same 12 months, such as the CPI-U published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For hourly pay the annual figures assume your hours per week x 52. For salaries, the per-hour figure assumes the standard 2,080-hour year. All amounts are gross, before tax.
Common use cases
Reading a raise letter
Turn the percentage in a review letter into the monthly and per-paycheck amounts you will actually see.
Preparing for a pay talk
Check whether a proposed raise beats inflation before you accept it.
Comparing a job offer
See what percentage jump a new offer represents over your current salary.
Planning hourly wage increases
Managers can see what a cents-per-hour increase costs per employee per year.
Tips and limitations
- A raise smaller than inflation is a real pay cut, even though the number on the paycheck goes up.
- Do not subtract inflation from the raise for a precise answer; divide, as the calculator does. The shortcut overstates the real raise.
- Compare raises on total pay, including bonus and retirement match, if those change too.
- Your take-home pay rises by less than the gross raise because tax and percentage-based deductions grow with it.
- Two raises compound: 3% then 4% is 7.12% in total, not 7%.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the percentage of a raise?
Subtract the old pay from the new pay, divide by the old pay and multiply by 100. From $50,000 to $53,000 is 3,000 / 50,000 x 100 = 6%.
What is a 3% raise on $50,000?
$1,500 a year, so the new salary is $51,500. That is $125 more a month or about $57.69 more per bi-weekly paycheck, before tax.
What is a real raise after inflation?
It is the change in what your pay can buy. Divide (1 + raise) by (1 + inflation) and subtract 1. A 4% raise with 4% inflation is a 0% real raise.
What is a typical annual raise?
It varies by country, industry and year, and published salary-budget surveys from firms such as WTW and Mercer have put US merit budgets around 3% to 4% in recent years. Compare against inflation and your market rate rather than an average alone.
How do I calculate an hourly pay raise?
Switch the pay type to Hourly wage. A raise from $20 to $21 is 5%, and at 40 hours a week it adds $2,080 a year.
Is a decrease from 80,000 to 72,000 the same percentage as the increase back?
No. The drop is 10% of 80,000, but the rise back is 11.11% of 72,000, because each percentage uses a different starting value.
Is there an in-depth guide to the Pay Raise Calculator?
Yes. “Salary, Overtime and Raises: The Pay Maths Explained” covers the background, how it works, common pitfalls and worked examples. Read the full guide.
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