Pay Raise Calculator
Calculate your new salary after a raise, determine percentage increases, and see how your pay changes over time.
$0.00
Breakdown
Current Salary
$50,000.00
Increase Amount
+$0.00
Percentage Increase
0.00%
New Salary:
$0.00
Pay Breakdown
| Pay Period | Current Pay | New Pay | Difference |
|---|
Understanding Your Pay Raise
Whether you've received a promotion, annual adjustment, or merit increase, our pay raise calculator helps you understand exactly how your income will change. Calculate your new salary, percentage increase, and see the impact on your monthly, weekly, and hourly pay.
What You'll Learn in This Guide:
- ✔️How to calculate percentage increases in your salary
- ✔️Understanding the difference between flat amount and percentage raises
- ✔️How to compare your raise to inflation and cost of living increases
- ✔️Tips for negotiating a better raise
How to Calculate a Pay Raise
The formula for calculating a percentage pay raise is:
And to calculate the percentage increase from a flat amount raise:
Types of Pay Raises
Different types of pay raises you might encounter:
- Merit Raises: Based on performance and typically range from 1-5% for average to excellent performance
- Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA): Designed to keep pace with inflation, typically 1-3% annually
- Promotional Raises: Larger increases (often 10-20%) when taking on a new position with more responsibility
- Market Adjustments: Increases to align your salary with current market rates for your position
- Retention Raises: Offered to keep valuable employees from leaving for other opportunities
Understanding the Impact of Your Raise
While a pay raise is always welcome, it's important to understand its real impact on your finances. A raise that doesn't keep pace with inflation may actually represent a decrease in purchasing power. Similarly, a raise might push you into a higher tax bracket, affecting your take-home pay differently than expected.
Our calculator helps you see the true impact of your raise by breaking down how it affects your pay across different time periods and showing the percentage increase. This gives you a clearer picture of how meaningful the raise is to your overall financial situation.
Tips for Negotiating a Better Raise
- Research market rates for your position and experience level
- Document your achievements and how they've benefited the company
- Consider the timing - annual reviews or after completing major projects are often good opportunities
- Practice your negotiation with a friend or mentor before the actual meeting
- Consider the full compensation package, not just salary (benefits, bonuses, flexibility, etc.)
- Be prepared with a specific request based on research and your value to the company
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good percentage for a raise?
The average annual raise is typically between 3-5%. Merit-based raises often fall in this range, while promotional raises can be 10-20% or more. Cost of living adjustments usually track with inflation, around 1-3% in most years. What constitutes a "good" raise depends on your industry, performance, and the current job market.
How do I calculate my new hourly rate after a raise?
To calculate your new hourly rate, divide your new annual salary by the number of working hours in a year. For a standard full-time position, this is typically 2,080 hours (40 hours per week x 52 weeks). Our calculator automatically shows this conversion for you.
Should I ask for a percentage or flat amount raise?
It depends on your situation. Percentage raises are more common and scale with your current salary. Flat amount raises can be advantageous for lower-paid positions where a percentage might result in a smaller dollar amount. When negotiating, it can be helpful to know both the percentage and dollar amount to frame the discussion in the most favorable terms.