Salary & Payroll

Pay Raise Calculator

What this does

See the new salary a percentage raise produces; or run it backwards from an offered salary to the percentage it really represents.

Enter your details

Runs in your browser

Calculator inputs

Used in percent mode.

Used in effective-% mode.

How to use it

Using the pay raise calculator

  1. 01

    Choose the direction

    Know the percentage? Use percent mode. Know only the offered number? Use effective-% mode.

  2. 02

    Enter current salary

    Base salary from your latest contract or paystub annualized.

  3. 03

    Read the breakdown

    Results show the new salary plus the change in yearly and monthly dollars.

Good to know

Raises versus inflation

A nominal raise only improves your position if it beats inflation. A 3% raise during 5% inflation leaves roughly 2% poorer in purchasing power despite the bigger paycheck; compare the result here against the inflation calculator before celebrating. Retention raises below inflation are quiet real-terms cuts.

Negotiating with both numbers

  • Anchor requests in percentages (“a 10% adjustment to market”) rather than dollars; they scale with your salary and sound principled.
  • Convert any dollar offer back to a percentage before accepting; $3,500 is 10% at $35k but just 3.5% at $100k.
  • Monthly framing keeps motivation concrete: even $200/month funds a meaningful line in the budget.

How it's calculated

The math behind this calculator

New salary = Current × (1 + Raise% / 100) Effective % = (New − Current) / Current × 100

In percent mode the raise scales current salary directly, and the increase is broken into annual and monthly dollar terms so budgeting keeps pace. The inverse mode divides the offered increase by current salary, revealing the percentage an absolute number represents; offers quoted as round dollars often hide unimpressive percentages.

Assumptions & limitations

  • Salaries are annual gross figures.
  • Percentages compound nothing here; a single applied raise.
  • Negative percentages model cuts or furloughs honestly.

Worked example

A 5% raise on a $70,000 salary lifts pay to $73,500; $3,500 more per year, or about $292 extra per month.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is a typical raise?
Merit raises commonly land between 3–5%; promotions range 10–15%. Job switches historically command the largest jumps, often 15–20% or more.
Can I enter a negative raise?
Yes; values above −100% model salary cuts, and the calculator reports the reduced salary and monthly impact without judgment.
Does this handle hourly wages?
Enter annualized amounts (use the hourly-to-salary converter first) and read results back as percentages; they transfer directly.

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