Pay Raise Calculator
See your new pay after a raise. Enter either a percentage or a dollar amount — the calculator shows both, plus what your new check looks like.
How to use this calculator
- Pick whether you know the raise as a percentage (5%) or a dollar amount ($3,000).
- Enter your current pay in any units you want — annual salary, hourly rate, monthly check.
- Type either the percent or the dollar amount in its field. The other one fills in automatically.
- The result updates as you type. Hit Share link to send the result to someone — your inputs travel in the URL, no account needed.
A real example: the 5% raise everyone gets quoted
Say you're earning $60,000 a year and your manager comes back from review season with a 5% raise. The math:
- Raise dollars: $60,000 × 0.05 = $3,000
- New pay: $60,000 + $3,000 = $63,000
- Per biweekly paycheck (26 a year), that's an extra $115.38 gross — before taxes take their cut.
A few things to notice. A 5% raise is roughly average — typical company-wide annual increases run 3% to 5% these days. If inflation was 3% last year, only the 2 points above inflation are a real raise; the rest just kept you even. And the take-home boost is smaller than $115 a check, because the extra income is taxed at your marginal rate — so a federal 22% bracket filer in Texas sees roughly $87 more biweekly, not the full $115.
Flip the example: same job, same $60,000, but the offer comes in as "we can do $5,000." Switch the calculator to dollar-amount mode, type 5000, and it tells you that's an 8.33% raise — useful when comparing dollar offers between jobs that quote in different ways.
How it's calculated
It's the same arithmetic in either direction — you tell the calculator which side of the equation you know, and it solves for the other.
Common raise sizes on a $60,000 salary
| Raise % | Raise amount | New pay | Extra per biweekly check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | $1,800.00 | $61,800.00 | $69.23 |
| 5% | $3,000.00 | $63,000.00 | $115.38 |
| 7% | $4,200.00 | $64,200.00 | $161.54 |
| 10% | $6,000.00 | $66,000.00 | $230.77 |
| 15% | $9,000.00 | $69,000.00 | $346.15 |
| 20% | $12,000.00 | $72,000.00 | $461.54 |
Per-paycheck numbers are gross — your take-home increase will be smaller after federal tax and FICA.
Tips for thinking about raises
- Compare to inflation, not zero. A 3% raise during 6% inflation is a pay cut in real dollars. Always benchmark your raise against current inflation, not last year's pay.
- Promotions usually beat annual reviews. Average annual merit increases hover around 4%; a promotion or job change typically lands 10%–20% higher. If your skills have grown faster than the merit-increase curve, the bigger jump is the lever.
- One-time bonuses are not the same as a raise. A $5,000 spot bonus is great this year, and worth $0 next year. A 5% base raise compounds.
- Run the new pay through a paycheck calculator. The gross number is exciting; the take-home delta is what actually hits your account.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a percentage raise?
Multiply your current pay by the raise percentage. A 5% raise on $60,000 is $60,000 × 0.05 = $3,000, making your new pay $63,000. This calculator does the math both ways — you can also enter a dollar amount and see what percent it works out to.
Is a 3% raise good?
It depends on inflation. A 3% raise roughly keeps pace with normal inflation; below 3% means a real pay cut after inflation. Salary surveys put the average annual raise in recent years at roughly 3.5%–4.5% for current employees, with higher figures for promotions or job changes.
What's the difference between a raise and a promotion?
A raise is more money for the same role. A promotion changes your title or responsibilities and usually includes a raise — typically a larger one. If you're being asked to do bigger work without a title or pay change, that's neither, and worth raising with your manager.
Does this calculator account for taxes?
No — this shows the gross change. Your take-home increase will be smaller because the additional pay is taxed at your marginal rate. To see take-home for a specific state, use the state paycheck calculator with your new gross pay.