How to use the pay raise calculator
- Under I know the raise as, choose A percent, An amount or New salary.
- Enter your Current annual salary before tax, then the raise field that appears. Enter a negative number for a pay cut.
- Set the Inflation rate (%), your Work hours per week and How often you are paid.
- Read your new salary, what the raise adds per paycheck, month, week and hour, and your real raise after inflation.
How a raise and a real raise are calculated
New salary = current x (1 + raise %)
Per paycheck = raise / paychecks per year
Hourly = salary / (hours per week x 52)
Real raise = (1 + raise) / (1 + inflation) - 1
The real raise divides instead of subtracting, because inflation shrinks the new salary, not the old one. A 5% raise during 8% inflation is a 2.78% cut in buying power, not 3%. Inflation here is the change in the US Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Worked example with the default numbers
A $60,000 salary with a 3.5% raise becomes $62,100, which is +$2,100 a year. That adds $80.77 to each biweekly paycheck, $175.00 a month, $40.38 a week and $1.01 an hour. Your hourly rate goes from $28.85 to $29.86 at 40 hours a week. With inflation at 3.4%, the real raise is (1.035 / 1.034) - 1 = +0.10%, and the new salary is worth $60,058.03 in today's money, $58.03 more than now. Matching inflation would have taken a raise of $2,040.00.
Limits and edge cases
- All figures are before tax. In the US only the dollars above a bracket threshold are taxed at the higher rate, so a raise does not cut your take-home pay. See your actual net with the paycheck calculator.
- Hourly figures assume 52 paid weeks. To convert a wage to a yearly figure instead, use the hourly to salary calculator.
- Use the inflation rate for the same period as the raise. For the past year, that was 3.4% in the 12 months to August 2026. To compare dollars across many years, try the inflation calculator.
- For context, US employers' 2026 raises averaged about 3.4% to 3.5% (Mercer QuickPulse, April 2026: 3.4% total including zeros, 3.1% merit; WTW, July 2026: 3.5%). Promotions and job changes usually pay more.
- To turn a dollar figure into a percent, or the reverse, the percentage calculator shows the steps.
Pay raise questions people ask
How do I calculate a pay raise percentage?
Subtract your old salary from the new one, divide by the old salary, and multiply by 100. Going from $60,000 to $62,100 is $2,100 / $60,000 = 3.5%.
How do I calculate my real raise after inflation?
Divide 1 plus your raise by 1 plus the inflation rate, then subtract 1. A 3.5% raise with 3.4% inflation gives 1.035 / 1.034 - 1, which is a real raise of about 0.10%.
What is a good raise percentage?
US employers' 2026 raises averaged about 3.4% to 3.5%, according to Mercer and WTW, so a raise near that is typical. A good raise at least beats inflation, which was 3.4% in the 12 months to August 2026.
Does this calculator include taxes?
No, it works in gross pay before tax. Your take-home gain depends on your federal, state and payroll taxes, so run the new salary through a paycheck calculator to see the net difference.
What inflation rate should I use?
Use the US Consumer Price Index change over the period since your last raise. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 3.4% for the 12 months ending August 2026. Outside the US, use your national statistics office.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index summary, August 2026 (released September 11, 2026). Mercer, 2026 actual US increases (QuickPulse, April 2026). WorldatWork, WTW salary budget survey, July 2026.
Results are estimates for planning only. Your actual pay depends on your employer, taxes and deductions.