Salary Increase Calculator guide
Enter your current salary and a raise as a percentage, a dollar amount or a new salary. See the increase per year, per month and per paycheck, your new hourly rate, and your real raise after inflation.
The raise math in one line
New salary = current salary × (1 + raise percentage). A 4 percent raise on $65,000 is $65,000 × 1.04 = $67,600, or $2,600 more a year. Going the other way, the raise percentage is (new salary − old salary) ÷ old salary. An offer of $72,000 against a current $65,000 is a $7,000 bump, which is 10.77 percent.
The calculator keeps all three boxes (percent, dollar raise, and new salary) in sync. Type whichever number your manager gave you and the other two update, along with what it means per paycheck and per hour.
What the raise looks like on a paycheck
Annual numbers feel big. Paycheck numbers are what you actually notice. Divide the yearly increase by your number of pay periods: 52 for weekly, 26 for biweekly, 24 for semi-monthly, 12 for monthly. That $2,600 raise is $100 more per biweekly check, before taxes.
After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state tax, most people keep roughly 65 to 78 percent of a raise, depending on their bracket. Someone in the 22 percent federal bracket paying 7.65 percent FICA and 5 percent state tax keeps about 65 cents of each extra dollar, so the $100 gross becomes about $65 in the bank. For an exact take-home number, run the new salary through the paycheck calculator.
Your real raise: adjust for inflation
A raise only makes you richer if it beats rising prices. The real raise is (1 + raise) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. With a 4 percent raise and 3.4 percent inflation (the 12-month US CPI-U change reported for August 2026), the real raise is 1.04 ÷ 1.034 − 1 = 0.58 percent. In purchasing-power terms, that $2,600 raise is worth about $377 in today's dollars ($67,600 ÷ 1.034 − $65,000).
Subtracting (4 − 3.4 = 0.6 percent) gets you close, and it is fine for small numbers. The division is exact and matters more when inflation runs high. In 2022, when CPI rose 9.1 percent over 12 months at its peak, a 5 percent raise was a real pay cut of 3.8 percent.
The default inflation rate here is the latest headline CPI. Your personal inflation may differ. If rent and car insurance are most of your budget and both jumped 8 percent, your cost of living rose faster than the headline number.
What counts as a good raise in the US
Merit budgets at large US employers have landed around 3.5 to 4 percent in recent years, with top performers getting more and average performers getting the budget or a bit less. A raise at or below inflation is a cost-of-living adjustment in disguise, not a reward.
Job changes are where big jumps happen. Switching employers often comes with a 10 to 20 percent increase, which is why staying put for years on 3 percent raises can quietly cost tens of thousands of dollars. Compounding makes this worse: 3 percent a year for 10 years grows a $65,000 salary to $87,355, while 5 percent grows it to $105,878. That is an $18,500 annual gap after a decade.
Using the numbers in a raise conversation
Walk in with three numbers: the inflation rate, the market rate for your role, and what you delivered. If you are asking for a raise that beats inflation by 2 points, show that the request is 3.4 percent to stand still plus 2 percent for performance, rather than a round number with no logic behind it.
Also check the hourly equivalent. Hourly figures make comparisons easy against contractor rates, part-time offers, or overtime-eligible roles. The calculator uses 2,080 hours (40 hours × 52 weeks); change it if you work a different schedule. To compare a salaried offer with an hourly one, the hourly salary calculator has more options.
Common mistakes
Comparing an offer's base salary to your total compensation. Compare like with like: base to base, then bonuses, equity, 401(k) match, and health premiums separately.
Assuming a raise can push you into a bracket that lowers take-home pay. It cannot. US federal brackets are marginal, so only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at the higher rate. More gross pay always means more net pay from wages.
Forgetting timing. A raise effective July 1 only adds half its annual value to this calendar year's W-2.
How we calculate: sources
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a salary increase?
Multiply your current salary by 1 plus the raise percentage. A 4% raise on $65,000 is $65,000 × 1.04 = $67,600, which is $2,600 more per year.
How do I find my raise percentage?
Subtract the old salary from the new one and divide by the old salary. Going from $65,000 to $72,000 is $7,000 ÷ $65,000 = 10.77%.
How much more will I get per paycheck?
Divide the annual increase by your pay periods: 26 for biweekly, 24 semi-monthly, 52 weekly, 12 monthly. A $2,600 raise is $100 more per biweekly paycheck before taxes.
Does my raise beat inflation?
Compute (1 + raise) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. With a 4% raise and 3.4% CPI inflation, your real raise is about 0.58%. A raise below inflation is a pay cut in purchasing power.
What is a good raise percentage?
Recent US merit budgets have averaged roughly 3.5 to 4%. Anything at or below inflation mainly preserves buying power. Job changes often bring 10 to 20%.
Can a raise lower my take-home pay by moving me into a higher tax bracket?
No. US federal brackets are marginal, so only the dollars above a bracket threshold are taxed at the higher rate. A higher salary always means more take-home pay from wages.
Is my salary information stored?
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded to a server or stored by us.