Salary Increase Calculator
Work out your new salary and pay increase, either from a raise percentage or your new salary amount.
Your raise will appear here
Enter your current salary and either a raise percentage or your new salary to see the breakdown.
Quick Answer
To calculate a salary increase, multiply your current salary by 1 plus the raise percentage (as a decimal) to get your new salary, or divide the dollar increase by your old salary to get the percentage.
How It Works: Formula & Variables
New Salary = Old Salary × (1 + Raise % ÷ 100)
- Raise Amount
- New salary minus old salary, in dollars.
- Percent Increase
- Raise amount divided by old salary, times 100.
- Per Pay Period
- Raise amount divided by the number of pay periods in a year.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Calculating from a percentage
Sarah earns $60,000/year and gets a 5% raise. Her new salary is $60,000 × 1.05 = $63,000, a $3,000 annual increase, or about $115 more per biweekly paycheck.
Example 2: Calculating from a new salary
James moves from $45,000 to $49,500. The increase is $4,500, which works out to a 10% raise, or about $173 more per biweekly paycheck.
Key Concepts
Gross vs. net increase: This calculator shows your gross (pre-tax) raise. Your actual take-home increase will be smaller once taxes are applied.
Cost-of-living adjustments: A raise that's lower than the inflation rate can mean your real purchasing power has actually gone down, even though your salary number went up.
Per-period pay: Converting an annual raise into a per-paycheck amount helps you see the day-to-day impact, not just the headline number.
Common Mistakes
Confusing dollar amount with percentage: A $5,000 raise means very different things on a $40,000 salary versus a $150,000 salary.
Forgetting taxes: A 5% raise doesn't mean 5% more in your bank account, since taxes take a cut of the additional income too.
Mixing up pay frequencies: Make sure you're comparing the same pay period (weekly, biweekly, monthly) when looking at before-and-after amounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Subtract your old salary from your new salary, divide the result by your old salary, then multiply by 100. For example, going from $60,000 to $63,000 is a (3,000 / 60,000) × 100 = 5% increase.
Multiply your current salary by 1 plus the raise percentage as a decimal. A 5% raise on $60,000 is $60,000 × 1.05 = $63,000.
Typical annual raises in the US range from about 3% to 5%, often tied to inflation and performance. Promotions or role changes can bring larger increases, sometimes 10% or more.
No. This calculator shows your gross salary increase. To see how a raise affects your take-home pay after taxes, use our Take-Home Pay Calculator.