From dollars to percent, both ways
Raise Percentage Calculator
A free raise percentage calculator that works both directions. Enter your old and new pay to find the percent, or enter a percent to see the new pay it produces — hourly or annual, updated as you type.
- Both directions
- Hourly & annual
- Instant
- Free, no sign-up
Raise percentage calculator — updates as you type
Formula: raise percentage = (new pay − old pay) ÷ old pay × 100.
How to Calculate Raise Percentage
Finding a raise percentage takes three moves: subtract, divide, then multiply by 100.
- Subtract old pay from new pay. This is the dollar increase — the raw amount HR added to your paycheck before it becomes a percentage.
- Divide the increase by the old pay. Always the old, starting number goes on the bottom. Dividing by the new pay instead is the single most common mistake in this kind of math, and it quietly understates the raise percentage.
- Multiply the result by 100. That converts a decimal fraction into the raise percentage you can quote in a negotiation or compare against a benchmark.
Worked example: your pay moves from $52,000 to $55,000. Subtract first: $55,000 − $52,000 = $3,000. Divide by the old pay: $3,000 ÷ $52,000 = 0.0577. Multiply by 100 and the raise percentage is 5.77%. Run the same three moves on an hourly rate — $18.00 to $19.25 — and the raise percentage comes out to 6.9%, because the formula for how to calculate raise percentage never cares whether the pay is hourly or annual. The calculator above does this instantly: type either pay and read the raise percentage, or flip to "Apply a percent" and type a percent to see the dollar result.
Reading a Raise Percentage the Right Way
Most people meet this math backwards. An offer letter or a payroll update rarely says "you got a 5.77% raise" — it says your new salary is $55,000, full stop. Working out the raise percentage from two dollar figures, old and new, is the everyday case this page is built for, more common in practice than starting from a percent and calculating forward.
Two rounding habits are worth knowing. First, two decimal places is plenty for a raise percentage — 5.77%, not 5.76923%. Payroll systems, offer letters, and negotiation conversations all round the same way, so matching that precision avoids a number that looks more exact than the underlying pay figures actually are. Second, watch the denominator. A raise percentage is always the increase divided by the old pay, not the new one; dividing by the new salary produces a smaller, technically wrong figure that undersells the raise.
The two-way design matters for a second reason: a salary raise percentage calculator and a salary increase percentage calculator are really the same tool used in opposite directions. Start from old and new pay and solve for the percent, or start from a percent and solve for the new pay — the arithmetic is identical, just run forward or backward. Whichever direction you need, the raise percentage sits in the same spot in the formula.
More Tools
Once you have your raise percentage, these tools put it in context:
- Pay Raise Calculator — full breakdown by pay period, after-tax estimate, and inflation check for the same raise.
- Average Raise Percentage — see whether your raise percentage lands above or below current U.S. benchmarks.
- How to Calculate a Pay Raise — the full guide, with more worked examples and edge cases.
Raise Percentage Calculator FAQ
How do I calculate my raise percentage?
Subtract your old pay from your new pay, divide that difference by the old pay, then multiply by 100. Enter both figures into the calculator above and it returns the raise percentage instantly, with the dollar increase alongside it.
What is the raise percentage formula?
Raise percentage = (new pay − old pay) ÷ old pay × 100. It is the same formula whether the pay is a weekly check or an annual salary; only the numbers you feed it change.
Is raise percentage based on old or new salary?
Always the old salary. The increase is divided by where you started, not where you ended up. Dividing by the new salary instead is a common error that makes the raise percentage look smaller than it really is.
How much is a $2,000 raise in percent?
On a $50,000 salary, a $2,000 raise is a 4% raise percentage: $2,000 ÷ $50,000 × 100 = 4. Switch to "Apply a percent" above, enter 4%, and confirm the same $2,000 comes back out.
What salary increase percentage should I ask for?
That depends on your role, industry, and location more than any fixed rule, so this page sticks to the math. Our average raise percentage page tracks current U.S. benchmarks by year so you can judge your target against real data.
Does the raise percentage change for hourly pay?
No. An $18.00-to-$19.25 hourly raise works out to the same 6.9% raise percentage whether you multiply the hourly figures directly or convert both to annual pay first — the percent stays identical either way.
How do I compare two offers with different raise percentages?
Convert both to dollars on your actual base pay before choosing. A 7% raise percentage on $46,000 is $3,220, while 5% on $68,000 is $3,400 — the smaller percent can still be the bigger check. Run each offer through the calculator above and compare the dollar rows, not the headline percents.