Pay Raise Calculator

See your new pay after a raise — enter your current pay and the raise as a percentage or a dollar amount. Get your new salary, the increase, and the percentage change instantly.

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Pay Raise Calculator

New pay after a raise

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%
New Pay
Current Pay
Raise Amount
Percentage Change
Monthly Increase
Current vs New Pay

Calculating a Pay Raise

A pay raise can be expressed two ways. As a percentage: new pay = current × (1 + raise%). A 5% raise on $60,000 brings you to $63,000 — a $3,000 increase. As a fixed amount: your new pay is simply current + raise, and the percentage change is the raise divided by current pay. Knowing both helps you evaluate an offer and compare it to inflation: if your raise is below the inflation rate, your real (inflation-adjusted) pay actually fell.

This calculator works for salary or hourly pay and shows your new pay, the dollar increase, the percentage change, and the monthly increase. Use it to check that a promotion or annual review keeps pace with the cost of living, or to translate a percentage raise into real take-home dollars.

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Percentage Raise

New = Current × (1 + raise%). A 5% raise on $60,000 = $63,000, a $3,000 bump.

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Fixed-Amount Raise

New = Current + raise. The % change is raise ÷ current — useful for comparing flat increases.

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Beat Inflation

If your raise is below the inflation rate, your real purchasing power dropped despite a higher number.

Formula & Logic

A raise is easy to compute and easy to misjudge, because the headline percentage is nominal while what you keep is real and after tax. Two adjustments matter. Inflation erodes the increase, so a 4% raise in a 3% inflation year is a 1% real gain — and a raise below inflation is a pay cut in purchasing power however it is described. Tax takes a share at your marginal rate, not your effective one, so a 22%-bracket employee keeps 78 cents of each raise dollar before state tax and FICA. Compounding works the other way and in your favour: raises apply to an already-raised base, so consistent small increases outrun occasional large ones.

New salary = Old × (1 + raise%)Real raise% ≈ ((1 + raise%) ÷ (1 + inflation%)) − 1After-tax gain = raise amount × (1 − marginal rate)

where:

raise%
the nominal increase
inflation%
CPI over the same period
marginal rate
combined federal + state + FICA on the incremental dollars

Assumptions: FICA continues on the increase until the Social Security wage base is reached. A raise that crosses a bracket threshold is taxed at the higher rate only on the portion above it.

SourceBLS Employment Cost Index

Step-by-Step Example: A 4% Raise on $78,000 With 3% Inflation

Trace a typical annual increase from headline to actual purchasing power.

  • Current salary$78,000
  • Raise4%
  • Inflation3%
  • Marginal rate22% federal + 7.65% FICA + 5% state
  1. New salary: $78,000 × 1.04 = $81,120 — a $3,120 increase.
  2. Real terms: (1.04 ÷ 1.03) − 1 = 0.97%, so purchasing power rises just under 1%.
  3. In dollars, the real gain is roughly $757 of today's money.
  4. Now tax it: combined marginal rate is 34.65%, so you keep $3,120 × 0.6535 = $2,039.
  5. Monthly, that is $170 more in take-home pay.
  6. Compounding check: 4% a year for five years gives $94,900, not the $93,600 simple addition suggests.

Result$81,120 — about $170/month more take-home, 0.97% real

The gap between "a 4% raise" and "$170 a month" is why raises often feel smaller than announced. It also shows why negotiating the starting salary matters more than any single raise: every future percentage increase compounds on that base.

FAQ

Multiply your current pay by (1 + the raise as a decimal). A 5% raise: $60,000 × 1.05 = $63,000. The increase is the difference, $3,000. To find the percentage from a dollar raise, divide the raise by your current pay and multiply by 100.
It depends on inflation. A 3% raise only maintains your buying power if inflation is also around 3%; if inflation is higher, your real pay fell. Average US merit raises run about 3–4%, while promotions or job changes often bring 10–20%. Compare your raise to the current inflation rate to judge it.
Yes. Enter a negative percentage (or a negative amount) to model a pay cut, and the calculator will show your reduced pay and the negative change. This is handy for evaluating a role change, reduced hours, or a switch to a lower-paying but preferred job.

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✔ Written & reviewed by Dr Sam — 20+ yrs in management & research leadership📅 Last updated June 2026📑 How we build & check these