Salary Increase Calculator
Find the percentage increase between an old and new salary.
Your Details
Breakdown
Visual split of the key components
- Old Salary58000
- Increase5000
Sensitivity
How the result changes across a range
How It Works
- Enter the values on the left.
- Press Calculate to see your results and charts.
- Use Reset to start over from the defaults.
Formula Used
Works the same way whether comparing a raise, a new job offer, or a multi-year change.
Good to Know
- • This works for comparing any two salary figures, not just a single raise.
- • A negative result means the new salary is actually lower.
Important Notes
- • Both figures should use the same pay basis (both annual, or both monthly, etc.).
Comparing Job Offers or Multi-Year Growth
This calculator is useful well beyond evaluating a single annual raise — it works equally well for comparing a new external job offer against a current salary, or for measuring how much total pay has grown across several years of a career. The percentage-increase figure makes it possible to compare growth across very different starting salaries on equal footing, which a simple dollar-amount comparison alone wouldn't provide.
When comparing an external job offer specifically, it's worth calculating the percentage increase both on base salary alone and on total compensation (including any change in bonus structure, equity, or benefits) since a seemingly modest base salary increase can represent a much larger or smaller total compensation change once these other elements are factored in.
Contextualizing the Percentage With a Timeframe
A percentage increase means something quite different depending on the timeframe it covers — a 15% increase achieved over five years represents a fairly modest average annual growth rate (roughly 2.8% per year, compounded), while the same 15% increase achieved in a single year is a genuinely strong raise well above typical annual increases. When evaluating whether a given increase is actually strong, it's essential to know both the percentage itself and the time period over which it occurred, not the percentage in isolation.
This is also why comparing a multi-year salary history to inflation over that same period gives a more honest read on real career progress than looking at the nominal percentage growth alone — a salary that grew 15% over five years while inflation ran at 20% over the same period actually represents a decline in real purchasing power, despite the positive nominal growth.
Quick Definitions
- Percentage increase — the change between two salary figures, expressed relative to the starting (old) figure.
- Total compensation — base salary plus bonus, equity, and benefits value, a fuller comparison than base salary alone.
- Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) — the average yearly growth rate needed to reach a total increase over multiple years, accounting for compounding.
A Sample Scenario: Comparing a Job Offer
Current salary $58,000, new external offer $67,000:
Increase % = $9,000 ÷ $58,000 × 100 ≈ 15.5%
A 15.5% increase is well above typical annual internal raises (often 3-5%), which is common when comparing against a new external offer rather than an internal annual adjustment — external moves frequently produce larger percentage jumps than staying with the same employer for another year.
Increase Scenario Table
| Old → New | Increase % |
|---|---|
| $50,000 → $53,000 | 6.0% |
| $58,000 → $67,000 | 15.5% |
Where Estimates Go Wrong Comparing Salary Changes
- Comparing gross salary figures only — total compensation (bonus, equity, benefits) can shift the real comparison significantly.
- Not adjusting for cost-of-living differences — especially relevant when comparing offers across different cities or regions.
- Ignoring the timeframe behind a percentage — a large increase spread over many years represents much slower annual growth than the same percentage achieved in one year.