What is a pay raise calculator?
A pay raise calculator is a free online tool that turns a percentage increase into real numbers. You enter what you earn today and the size of the raise you have been offered, and it tells you exactly how many dollars that raise is worth and what your pay becomes once the increase takes effect.
Percentages are easy to quote but hard to picture. A “5% raise” sounds pleasant, yet most people cannot instantly say whether that is worth $50 or $5,000 without doing the arithmetic. This calculator removes the guesswork so you can evaluate an offer, plan a budget, or compare two job opportunities on equal footing.
How does the pay raise calculator work?
The calculator needs just two inputs:
- Current pay — your present salary, monthly wage, or hourly rate. The result is expressed in whatever unit you enter.
- Raise — the size of the increase, written as a percentage.
From those, it derives two figures. The raise amount is the extra money the percentage represents, and the new pay is your current pay plus that raise amount. Because the raise amount is simply a slice of your current pay, the same math works whether you are talking about an annual salary or an hourly wage.
Formula
The raise amount is the current pay multiplied by the raise percentage divided by 100:
The new pay adds that increase back onto the current pay, which can be written in one step:
Worked examples
Example 1 — a 5% raise on a $50,000 salary.
- Raise amount = $50,000 × 5 ÷ 100 = $2,500
- New pay = $50,000 × (1 + 5 ÷ 100) = $52,500
Example 2 — a 10% raise on a $20 hourly rate.
- Raise amount = $20 × 10 ÷ 100 = $2
- New pay = $20 × (1 + 10 ÷ 100) = $22 per hour
Example 3 — a modest 3% cost-of-living bump on $60,000.
- Raise amount = $60,000 × 3 ÷ 100 = $1,800
- New pay = $60,000 × (1 + 3 ÷ 100) = $61,800
Practical notes
- The figures are gross (before tax). Your take-home increase will be smaller once income tax and other deductions apply.
- If you want to know what the new salary means per hour, feed the new pay into the salary to hourly calculator.
- To convert between gross and net amounts at a given tax rate, use the annual income calculator.
FAQs
Does the raise amount include the original pay?
No. The raise amount is only the extra money the increase adds. Your new pay is the current pay plus the raise amount.
Can I use it for an hourly wage instead of a salary?
Yes. The percentage math is identical, so any unit works. Enter $20 and the result is per hour; enter $50,000 and the result is per year.
How do I reverse a percentage cut?
A cut is a negative raise. Entering -10 as the raise percentage will show the dollars lost and the reduced pay.