Salary Increase Calculator
This pay increase calculator works out your new salary from a raise percentage or a new salary amount, so you can see exactly what a salary raise adds to your paycheck. Planning further ahead? Try the salary increase projection calculator to see how raises compound over several years.
Your raise will appear here
Enter your current salary and either a raise percentage or your new salary to see the breakdown.
Pay Raise vs. Salary Increase vs. Promotion
"Pay raise," "salary increase," and "raise" all describe the same calculation. Whichever term shows up on your offer letter or performance review, the math above works the same way: take the dollar increase, divide by your old salary, and multiply by 100.
Where it gets more interesting is scale. A regular annual raise usually lands in the 3-5% range, roughly tracking inflation or rewarding a solid year of performance. A promotion is a different animal. Because you're stepping into more responsibility, not just staying in place another year, promotion raises often run 10% or higher, sometimes much more if the new role has a wider pay band. If your raise number looks unusually large, it's worth checking whether it's actually tied to a title change or new set of duties, rather than a standard yearly adjustment.
Want to see how a series of raises adds up over time instead of just one? The salary increase projection calculator projects your salary growth year by year.
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.
A pay increase calculator works out your new salary and the size of a raise, either as a dollar amount or a percentage. Enter your current pay along with a raise percentage or a new salary figure, and it handles the math for you, including what the change looks like per paycheck.
Multiply your current salary by 1.03. On a $50,000 salary, a 3% raise works out to $50,000 × 1.03 = $51,500, a $1,500 increase for the year.
Compare the gross pay on your old and new pay stubs for the same pay period (weekly, biweekly, or monthly), then multiply the difference by the number of pay periods in a year to get your annual raise. Divide that dollar increase by your old annual salary and multiply by 100 to get the percentage.