Raise Calculator
See what a pay raise means for your paycheck. Enter your current pay and a raise as a percentage or a dollar amount, or enter your old and new pay to find your raise percentage.
Enter your pay
| Period | Before | After | Increase |
|---|
How to calculate a raise
To find your new pay after a percentage raise, multiply your current pay by one plus the raise written as a decimal.
New pay = Current pay × (1 + Raise % ÷ 100)
Example: a 4% raise on $55,000
$55,000 × 1.04 = $57,200. That is $2,200 more a year, about $84.62 more per biweekly paycheck ($2,200 ÷ 26), or about $1.06 more per hour at 2,080 hours.
How to calculate a raise percentage
If you know your old and new pay, subtract the old pay from the new pay, divide by the old pay, and multiply by 100.
Raise % = (New pay − Old pay) ÷ Old pay × 100
Example: $18 to $19.50 an hour
($19.50 − $18) ÷ $18 × 100 = 8.33%. Over a full-time year that is an extra $3,120 before taxes ($1.50 × 2,080 hours).
Raise percentages at a glance
New annual pay for common starting salaries. Gross figures, before taxes.
| Current salary | +3% | +5% | +10% |
|---|---|---|---|
| $35,000 | $36,050.00 | $36,750.00 | $38,500.00 |
| $40,000 | $41,200.00 | $42,000.00 | $44,000.00 |
| $45,000 | $46,350.00 | $47,250.00 | $49,500.00 |
| $50,000 | $51,500.00 | $52,500.00 | $55,000.00 |
| $55,000 | $56,650.00 | $57,750.00 | $60,500.00 |
| $60,000 | $61,800.00 | $63,000.00 | $66,000.00 |
| $70,000 | $72,100.00 | $73,500.00 | $77,000.00 |
| $80,000 | $82,400.00 | $84,000.00 | $88,000.00 |
| $90,000 | $92,700.00 | $94,500.00 | $99,000.00 |
| $100,000 | $103,000.00 | $105,000.00 | $110,000.00 |
| $120,000 | $123,600.00 | $126,000.00 | $132,000.00 |
Things to know about raises
- A raise is not all take-home. Federal and state income tax, Social Security and Medicare come out of the extra pay too, so your paycheck grows by less than the raise. A raise never lowers your take-home pay, though: the higher tax bracket only applies to the dollars inside that bracket.
- Compare it with inflation. If prices rise faster than your pay, a raise can still leave you with less buying power. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the Consumer Price Index you can compare against.
- Percentages compound. Two 5% raises in a row add up to 10.25%, not 10%, because the second raise is applied to the already higher pay.
- A pay cut is not undone by the same percentage. After a 10% cut, you need an 11.1% raise to get back to where you were.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are gross pay before taxes, benefits and other deductions.
- Hourly and yearly figures are converted using the hours per week you enter and 52 paid weeks a year. Use the salary to hourly calculator for a different number of weeks.
- Results are rounded to the nearest cent for display, and to two decimals for percentages.
For general information only; not financial or tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good raise percentage?
It depends on your industry, your performance and inflation. A useful test is whether the raise is higher than the inflation rate for the past year, since anything less means your pay buys a little less than before.
How much is a 3% raise on $20 an hour?
$20 × 1.03 = $20.60 an hour, which is about $1,248 more a year at 40 hours a week and 52 weeks.
How do I calculate a raise for a biweekly paycheck?
Work out the new annual pay, then divide by 26. The calculator shows the before and after biweekly amounts for you.
Does the calculator save what I type?
No. The math runs in your browser and the numbers you type are not sent to our server or stored.
Related calculators
- Salary to hourly calculator: turn your new salary into hourly, weekly and monthly pay.
- Time and a half calculator: see what your new rate means for overtime.
About this calculator. Built and maintained by Mubarak Hussain. Calculations use standard percentage-change formulas shown on this page. Last reviewed October 2026.
Found an error? Tell us and we will check and correct it.