Salary Raise Calculator
Calculate your new salary after a raise, the raise amount, and how long to negotiate for more.
Did this tool work for you?
How to use this calculator
The raise amount can be specified as a percentage or fixed dollar amount. The real raise subtracts inflation to show purchasing power change. Monthly and hourly increases help translate the raise into day-to-day terms.
- 1
Enter your current annual salary and whether your raise is a percentage or fixed dollar amount.
- 2
Input the raise percentage or amount your employer has offered.
- 3
Add the current inflation rate to see whether your raise represents a real increase in purchasing power.
Frequently asked questions
What formulas does this tool use?
This tool uses raise amount = salary × percentage ÷ 100 when the raise is a percentage, or the amount you type when it is fixed. New salary = salary + raise. Raise % = raise ÷ salary × 100. Monthly increase = raise ÷ 12, and hourly increase = raise ÷ 2,080. With the defaults of $60,000 and 5%, those give $3,000.00, $63,000.00, $250.00 a month and $1.44 an hour.
How is the real raise calculated?
It is the simple difference: raise % minus the inflation rate you enter. A 5% raise against 3% inflation shows 2.00%. A compounded calculation, which divides the two growth factors, gives a slightly smaller figure, so treat the result as a close approximation and not a precise purchasing-power measure. The tool does not look up inflation; the number is yours to supply.
What do the three status messages mean?
If the real raise is below zero it says “Below inflation — real pay cut”, if it is exactly zero “Keeping pace with inflation”, and otherwise “Real increase ✓”. The zero test is an exact comparison, so a result like 3.00% against 3.00% inflation reads as keeping pace.
Which fields are used when the raise is a fixed amount?
Only the amount. When “Fixed amount” is selected the percentage box is ignored, and the raise % line is back-calculated from the amount and your current salary. When “Percentage” is selected, the amount box is ignored. Entering $2,500 on $85,000 shows a 2.94% raise.
Why is the hourly increase based on 2,080?
The code divides the raise by a fixed 2,080, which is 40 hours × 52 weeks. It does not depend on your actual hours, so for a 35-hour week the real hourly effect is a little higher than shown. Use the salary to hourly calculator on this site if you want to change hours and weeks.
What happens with a salary of zero or a negative raise?
A current salary of zero in percentage mode gives a $0.00 raise and a 0.00% raise figure, so the real raise is simply minus the inflation rate. A negative percentage or amount is accepted and treated as a pay cut, which produces a lower new salary and the “Below inflation” message. Blank entries are treated as zero.
Are the results before or after tax?
Before. All amounts are gross annual, monthly or hourly figures. The tool does not estimate tax, pension changes, bonuses or benefits, so take-home pay will rise by less than the gross raise.
Salary raises: the amount, the percentage, and what inflation does to them
Two ways to describe the same raise
A raise can be offered as a percentage of pay or as a fixed sum, and the tool converts between them. In percentage mode it multiplies your salary by the rate to find the amount; in fixed mode it divides the amount by your salary to find the percentage. Either way you get a new annual salary plus the increase per month (the raise divided by 12) and per hour (the raise divided by 2,080, a fixed 40-hour, 52-week year). All figures are gross.
Worked examples: percentage and fixed amount
The default case, a 5% raise on $60,000 with 3% inflation, gives a new salary of $63,000.00, a $3,000.00 raise, a real raise of 2.00%, $250.00 more a month and $1.44 more an hour. A fixed raise shows the conversion: $2,500 on $85,000 with 4% inflation is a 2.94% raise, giving $87,500.00, a real raise of -1.06%, $208.33 a month, $1.20 an hour and the message “Below inflation — real pay cut”. A third run, 3% on $52,000 against 3% inflation, gives $53,560.00 and “Keeping pace with inflation”.
How inflation changes the verdict on one raise
The table keeps the offer fixed at 5% on $60,000, which is $3,000.00, and varies only the inflation rate. The dollar amounts never change because inflation does not enter the raise itself; it only moves the real raise and the status message. At 5% inflation the real raise is exactly zero, so the tool reports the pay as keeping pace.
| Inflation entered | Real raise | Status shown |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | 5.00% | Real increase ✓ |
| 2% | 3.00% | Real increase ✓ |
| 5% | 0.00% | Keeping pace with inflation |
| 7% | -2.00% | Below inflation — real pay cut |
Where the approximation shows
Because the real raise is a straight subtraction, it is a convenient estimate and not an exact purchasing-power measure; compounding makes the true figure slightly smaller when inflation is positive. The tool also takes inflation as a single number you choose, so the choice of index and period is yours. A 5% raise against 3% reads as 2.00% here, which is good enough for comparing offers but not for formal analysis.
What the figures leave out
The calculator works on gross pay and one year. It does not model taxes, changes to pension or bonus contributions, promotions at different times of year or multi-year compounding. To compare offers with different structures, convert each to a percentage with the fixed-amount mode, read the real raise, and then judge the rest of the package yourself.
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Results are estimates for informational purposes only and do not constitute professional financial, medical, legal, or technical advice. Read full disclaimer →