Quick math

Quick answer: how to calculate a raise

New salary = current salary × (1 + raise % ÷ 100). A 5% raise on $40,000 is $40,000 × 1.05 = $42,000 — $2,000 more per year, about $166.67 per month. Use the same formula for hourly rates: $20 × 1.05 = $21 per hour.

Calculators

How it works

How to Use the Salary Raise Calculator

  1. Enter your current pay and choose the matching pay period (hourly through annual). If you are hourly, set hours per week so annual figures match your schedule.
  2. Pick a mode. Start from a raise percent, solve for percent from old and new pay, or add a dollar amount. Adjust inflation for a cost of living raise check, and set your marginal tax rate when you want a raise calculator with taxes for a rough take-home sketch.
  3. Read the results card for new pay, raise amount, raise %, every paycheck period (a paycheck raise calculator view), real raise after inflation, and estimated after-tax increase. Copy the result link to save or share the same inputs.

Formulas

Raise formulas (the math behind the tool)

Every output on this page uses the same identities. The interactive tool keeps full precision internally and rounds only when it displays currency or percentages.

New salary from a percent raise

new salary = current salary × (1 + raise % ÷ 100). A 4% raise on $60,000 is $62,400.

Raise percentage from two salaries

raise % = (new − old) ÷ old × 100. Moving from $75,000 to $77,250 is a 3% raise. Both numbers must use the same period.

Raise by a dollar amount

new salary = current salary + amount. Adding $2,500 to a $50,000 salary produces $52,500 (a 5% raise). The amount can be hourly, monthly, or annual — match it to the pay period you entered.

Hourly ↔ annual

annual = hourly × hours per week × 52 and hourly = annual ÷ (hours per week × 52). At 40 hours, that divisor is 2,080. Weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly (24), and monthly (12) conversions divide or multiply annual pay by the periods in a year.

Real raise after inflation

real raise % = ((1 + raise % ÷ 100) ÷ (1 + inflation % ÷ 100) − 1) × 100. A 3% raise with 2.5% inflation is about a 0.49% real raise. If the result is negative, prices rose faster than your pay — a real pay cut.

Examples

Worked examples by salary and raise %

The table below uses the same formulas as the calculator above, so the examples cannot drift from the tool. Figures are before tax. Monthly increase is the annual raise divided by 12.

New salary and monthly increase for common raise percentages (annual raise shown under the new salary)
Current salary Raise New salary Monthly increase
$40,000 2% $40,800 +$800/yr $67
$40,000 3% $41,200 +$1,200/yr $100
$40,000 4% $41,600 +$1,600/yr $133
$40,000 5% $42,000 +$2,000/yr $167
$40,000 10% $44,000 +$4,000/yr $333
$50,000 2% $51,000 +$1,000/yr $83
$50,000 3% $51,500 +$1,500/yr $125
$50,000 4% $52,000 +$2,000/yr $167
$50,000 5% $52,500 +$2,500/yr $208
$50,000 10% $55,000 +$5,000/yr $417
$60,000 2% $61,200 +$1,200/yr $100
$60,000 3% $61,800 +$1,800/yr $150
$60,000 4% $62,400 +$2,400/yr $200
$60,000 5% $63,000 +$3,000/yr $250
$60,000 10% $66,000 +$6,000/yr $500
$75,000 2% $76,500 +$1,500/yr $125
$75,000 3% $77,250 +$2,250/yr $188
$75,000 4% $78,000 +$3,000/yr $250
$75,000 5% $78,750 +$3,750/yr $313
$75,000 10% $82,500 +$7,500/yr $625
$100,000 2% $102,000 +$2,000/yr $167
$100,000 3% $103,000 +$3,000/yr $250
$100,000 4% $104,000 +$4,000/yr $333
$100,000 5% $105,000 +$5,000/yr $417
$100,000 10% $110,000 +$10,000/yr $833

Need a percent that is not listed? Enter it in the calculator above, or open a dedicated page such as how much a 3% raise adds across a wider salary band. Browse all amounts on the raise examples index.

Take-home

After-tax raise: why $5,000 is not $5,000 take-home

Gross pay and take-home pay are different. A $5,000 raise increases taxable wages. Federal income tax uses brackets: only the slice of income that falls into a higher bracket is taxed at that higher marginal rate. Your effective rate is total income tax divided by total taxable income — usually lower than the marginal rate because earlier slices are taxed less.

Payroll also withholds FICA: 6.2% Social Security (up to the annual wage base) plus 1.45% Medicare, or 7.65% combined for most wage earners below the Social Security cap. State income tax, retirement deferrals, and benefits can change the net further.

A simple estimate is: take-home increase ≈ raise amount × (1 − marginal rate − FICA rate). At a 22% marginal rate and 7.65% FICA, about 70.35% of a $5,000 raise remains, or roughly $3,517.50 per year before other deductions — about $293 per month. That is an estimate, not a tax computation. Edit the marginal rate field in the calculator to match your situation, and treat the result as a planning range.

For a dedicated raise-increment sketch, open the take-home pay after raise calculator. For a full-salary net estimate (not just the raise dollars), see the gross to net salary calculator.

Benchmarks

Is my raise good?

Judge a raise against three anchors: inflation, market pay for your role, and your employer’s typical cycle. A raise that matches inflation roughly preserves purchasing power; one below inflation loses ground even when the paycheck grows. Promotions and market adjustments often sit above routine merit pools.

Under 3% Often below recent merit averages and may lag the BLS CPI-U print cited below.
3–4% Near common U.S. merit / total budget bands in WTW, Mercer, and WorldatWork releases cited below.
5–7% Stronger recognition or market adjustment territory relative to mid-3% survey budgets.
8%+ Near Mercer’s cited average promotion increase (~8.7%, 2025) or counteroffer territory.
WTW (2025) 3.5%
Mercer (2025) 3.5%
WorldatWork (2025) 3.6%
BLS CPI-U (2026) ~2.7%

Sources:

For cited survey ranges and plain-language context on what counts as typical versus strong, read average raise percentage benchmarks. Then come back here to convert any percent into dollars for your actual salary and paycheck schedule.

Audience

Who uses a salary increase calculator

  • Employees

    Comparing an offer, a counter, or a merit letter — including what the raise means per hour or per paycheck and whether it beats inflation. Run the same numbers before you accept so you can ask clearer follow-up questions.

  • Managers

    Explaining a proposed increase in concrete dollars before a review conversation, without promising tax outcomes. Share paycheck and annual views so the discussion stays tied to budget reality.

  • HR and payroll

    Sanity-checking percent-to-amount conversions across pay frequencies, or estimating the payroll cost of a round of raises. Use one consistent formula so letters, systems, and finance match.

  • Freelancers and contractors

    Translating a client rate change into annualized income when hours vary week to week. Model a few hour scenarios so the raise still holds on lighter months.

Blog

Latest from the blog

New guides on raise math, pay conversations, and benchmarks — same formulas as the calculator.

View all blog posts

FAQ

Pay raise calculator FAQ

Quick answers about raises, pay periods, and what this calculator can (and cannot) estimate.

Open the calculator

Subtract your old salary from your new salary, divide by the old salary, then multiply by 100. Example: ($77,250 − $75,000) ÷ $75,000 × 100 = 3%. Use the same pay period on both sides — both annual, or both hourly — so the units cancel. The salary raise calculator’s “Raise % from old and new salary” mode runs this formula for you and shows the result across every paycheck period.

Pick the path that matches what you know. From a percent: new pay = current pay × (1 + raise % ÷ 100). From two salaries: raise % = (new − old) ÷ old × 100. From a dollar bump: new pay = old pay + amount. This pay increase calculator also converts the result into hourly, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and annual views, and can sketch take-home with an editable tax rate.

A 3% raise multiplies current pay by 1.03. On $50,000 that is $1,500 more per year ($51,500 new salary), about $125 per month, or about $57.69 every biweekly paycheck. On $20 per hour it becomes $20.60. Exact take-home is lower after tax and FICA; use the after-tax estimate on this page with your own marginal rate. For salary-by-salary tables, see our 3% raise examples.

A “good” raise depends on role, performance, market pay, and inflation. Many U.S. merit cycles cluster near the low-to-mid single digits in ordinary years, while promotions and market adjustments can run higher. Compare your number to inflation: a raise below inflation is a real pay cut even if the dollar amount rises. Read our average raise percentage guide for cited benchmarks, then judge your offer against local market data for your job.

Average annual raise figures change every survey year and differ for merit-only pools versus total pay movement including promotions. Treat any single headline percentage as a starting point, not a guarantee. Check the year, geography, and industry on the source, and prefer recent employer surveys or government wage data over undated blog roundups. We summarize those benchmarks on the average raise percentage page and refresh the citations when new survey waves publish.

A flat dollar raise can be meaningful or tiny depending on your rate and hours. One dollar per hour at 40 hours per week is about $2,080 per year before tax (1 × 40 × 52). The same $1 on a $15 hourly wage is a larger percentage than on a $45 wage. Convert the dollar amount to a percent and to annual pay, then compare it with inflation and market ranges so you are not judging the sticker alone.

A raise can move part of your income into a higher federal marginal bracket, but only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at the higher rate — not your entire salary. That is why people confuse marginal rate with effective rate. Payroll also withholds Social Security and Medicare (FICA). The calculator’s take-home estimate uses an editable marginal rate plus 7.65% FICA as a rough guide; it is not a tax filing. Check IRS publications or a tax professional for your filing status.

If you are paid hourly, multiply your current rate by (1 + raise % ÷ 100). A 3% raise on $20.00 is $20.60. If you only know annual salary, divide annual pay by hours per week × 52 (2,080 hours at a 40-hour week) to get an hourly equivalent, apply the raise, then convert back if needed. Switch the calculator’s pay period to Hourly and set your true weekly hours for overtime-free estimates.

Back pay is what you should have earned between the raise’s effective date and the first paycheck that includes the new rate. Find the raise amount per paycheck (or per hour), multiply by the number of pay periods (or hours) that window covers, then subtract any partial amounts already paid. Confirm overtime, differentials, and commissions with payroll in writing. A simple difference is a starting estimate — not a final payroll settlement.

A cost of living raise (COLA) is meant to offset inflation so purchasing power stays roughly steady. It is often separate from a merit increase tied to performance. If inflation runs 3% and your raise is 3%, your real raise is about zero; if your raise is lower, you lost ground. Use the inflation field on this calculator to see the real raise percent, and compare COLA language in your offer letter with a published inflation measure for the same period.

Every number on this page comes from the same formulas the calculator uses: percent and amount raises, period conversions (hourly with editable hours per week; weekly × 52; biweekly × 26; semi-monthly × 24; monthly × 12), real raise after inflation, and a planning after-tax estimate of raise amount × (1 − marginal rate − 7.65% FICA). Display values round to cents; intermediate math does not.

Updated November 1, 2026

Tax parameters and inflation defaults are editable inputs for illustration. This site is not tax, legal, or financial advice and does not replace payroll systems, accountant guidance, or IRS publications. Verify figures against your pay stub, offer letter, and a qualified professional before making decisions. See the disclaimer.

Read our methodology Editorial policy