Pay Raise Calculator
Calculate salary increase amount, raise percentage, or new salary — across all pay periods · Updated June 2026
Enter your current salary and raise details,
then hit Calculate.
What Is a Pay Raise Calculator?
A pay raise calculator helps you determine either your new salary after a raise or the raise percentage you received — instantly converting the result across all pay periods: hourly, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and annual.
It works in two directions. If your employer offers you a 5% raise and you want to know what that means in dollars per paycheck, enter your current salary and the percentage. If you've been told your new salary is $68,000 and you want to know what percentage raise that represents from your current $63,500, enter both salaries and the calculator does the math.
- Average total salary increase (2026): 3.5% — Mercer, WTW, Conference Board, Payscale
- Average merit increase (2026): 3.2% — Mercer QuickPulse (Oct 2025, 1,013 US orgs)
- Average promotional increase (2026): 8.7% — Mercer
- Job-switcher salary increase: ~13.2% — Zippia/BLS data
- Average raise for staying at same employer: ~5.4% — BLS wage growth data
How to Use This Calculator
Mode 1 — Know the % Raise → Find New Salary
Use this when your employer has told you the raise percentage and you want to know what your new salary will be in every pay period. Enter your current salary (in any pay period format), select the pay period, enter the raise percentage, and hit Calculate. The calculator converts everything to annual and breaks it back down into hourly, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and annual figures for both before and after the raise.
Mode 2 — Know New Salary → Find % Raise
Use this when you know both your old and new salary and want to determine the exact raise percentage. Useful when comparing job offers, calculating how a new salary compares to your current one, or verifying a raise you received. Enter both salary amounts (they can each be in a different pay period), and the calculator determines the raise amount and percentage.
Hours Per Week
Only shown when you select "Hourly" as your pay period. Defaults to 40. Change this if you regularly work more or fewer hours — it's used to convert your hourly rate to weekly, monthly, and annual figures. The FLSA standard workweek is 40 hours.
How to Calculate a Pay Raise
There are two core formulas depending on what you know:
Formula 1 — Find new salary from raise %
New Salary = Current Salary + (Current Salary × Raise%)
Or simplified: New Salary = Current Salary × (1 + Raise% / 100)
Example: Current salary $60,000/year, raise of 5%:
New Salary = $60,000 × 1.05 = $63,000
Raise amount = $63,000 − $60,000 = $3,000/year = $250/month = $115.38/bi-weekly
Formula 2 — Find raise % from old and new salary
Raise % = ((New Salary − Old Salary) / Old Salary) × 100
Example: Old salary $25/hour, new salary $28/hour:
Raise % = (($28 − $25) / $25) × 100 = 12%
Pay Raise Quick Reference Table
How much does each raise percentage add to common salary levels — annually and monthly?
| Current Annual Salary | 3% Raise | 5% Raise | 8% Raise | 10% Raise | 15% Raise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $41,200 (+$1,200) | $42,000 (+$2,000) | $43,200 (+$3,200) | $44,000 (+$4,000) | $46,000 (+$6,000) |
| $50,000 | $51,500 (+$1,500) | $52,500 (+$2,500) | $54,000 (+$4,000) | $55,000 (+$5,000) | $57,500 (+$7,500) |
| $60,000 | $61,800 (+$1,800) | $63,000 (+$3,000) | $64,800 (+$4,800) | $66,000 (+$6,000) | $69,000 (+$9,000) |
| $75,000 | $77,250 (+$2,250) | $78,750 (+$3,750) | $81,000 (+$6,000) | $82,500 (+$7,500) | $86,250 (+$11,250) |
| $90,000 | $92,700 (+$2,700) | $94,500 (+$4,500) | $97,200 (+$7,200) | $99,000 (+$9,000) | $103,500 (+$13,500) |
| $100,000 | $103,000 (+$3,000) | $105,000 (+$5,000) | $108,000 (+$8,000) | $110,000 (+$10,000) | $115,000 (+$15,000) |
| $120,000 | $123,600 (+$3,600) | $126,000 (+$6,000) | $129,600 (+$9,600) | $132,000 (+$12,000) | $138,000 (+$18,000) |
* Annual salary amounts. Use the calculator above for full pay-period breakdown including hourly, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly figures.
What Is a Good Pay Raise in 2026? Live Benchmarks
Whether a raise is "good" depends on context: the national average, your industry, your performance rating, your tenure, and whether you're staying at your current employer or switching jobs. Here is the complete 2026 picture from the major compensation surveys:
National Average Pay Raise — 2026
| Source | Total Increase (2026) | Merit Only (2026) | Survey Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer (Oct 2025) | 3.5% | 3.2% | 1,013 US orgs |
| WTW | 3.5% | — | 1,569 US orgs |
| Conference Board | 3.4% | 3.0% | 460+ US orgs |
| Payscale | 3.5% (median) | 3.0% (median) | Multi-sector US |
| WorldatWork | 3.6% (mean) | — | US comp survey |
* "Total increase" includes merit, promotions, cost-of-living, and other adjustments. "Merit only" is base salary increases for performance.
Pay Raise by Industry — 2026
| Industry | Merit Increase (2026) | Total Increase (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| High technology | 3.4% | 3.7% |
| Energy | 3.3% | 3.7% |
| Financial services / insurance | 3.1–3.3% | 3.7% |
| Professional / business services | ~3.2% | ~3.5% |
| Manufacturing | ~3.2% | ~3.5% |
| Healthcare services | 2.9% | 3.4% |
| Retail / wholesale trade | 2.9% | 3.3% |
* Source: Mercer QuickPulse US Compensation Planning Survey (Oct 2025, 1,013 organizations). Data reflects preliminary 2026 budget projections.
Promotional Raise Benchmarks
A standard one-level promotion in 2026 typically carries a raise of 8–10%, according to Mercer. The average promotional increase budgeted by US employers for 2026 is 8.7%. This is down from approximately 10% in prior years, as companies become more conservative with promotion budgets alongside the overall moderation in pay increase budgets.
Job-Switcher vs. Job-Stayer Pay Increases
One of the most consistent findings in compensation data is that switching jobs delivers significantly higher salary increases than staying put:
- Staying with current employer: Average wage growth of approximately 5.4% (BLS Wage Tracker)
- Switching jobs: Average salary increase of approximately 13.2% (Zippia/BLS data)
- This "job-hopping premium" has moderated from its 2021–2022 peak (when it exceeded 20%) but remains significant in 2026
Why Pay Raises Vary — Factors That Determine Your Increase
Performance Rating
Performance-based pay is the most common basis for merit increases. Employers typically distribute salary budgets on a curve — high performers receive 1.5–2× the average increase, while employees rated "meets expectations" receive the baseline merit percentage or less. A top performer at a company budgeting 3.5% overall might receive 5–7%, while a poor performer might receive 0–1%.
Tenure and Length of Service
Some companies give across-the-board increases to all employees annually, sometimes tiered by tenure. Government and public sector employers often use step-based pay systems where automatic raises occur at defined service milestones.
Market Competitiveness
Companies benchmark salaries against external market data (using surveys from Mercer, Willis Towers Watson, Radford, etc.) to ensure compensation remains competitive. If your salary has drifted below market rate, you may receive a market adjustment in addition to a merit increase. These adjustments are separate from performance raises.
Inflation and Cost of Living
Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are separate from merit increases and reflect the rising cost of maintaining the same standard of living. In high-inflation periods (like 2022–2023), many employers added COLAs on top of merit raises. In 2026, with inflation at approximately 4.2%, most employers' 3.5% total increase budgets are not fully covering inflation.
Promotions
A promotion to a higher job level typically comes with a raise of 8–15%, separate from the annual merit cycle. In 2026, approximately 9% of employees are expected to be promoted, down from 10% in 2025, with an average promotional increase of 8.7% (Mercer).
Minimum Wage and Legal Increases
Hourly workers at or near the minimum wage receive automatic pay increases when federal or state minimum wages increase. With the federal minimum wage still at $7.25/hour (unchanged since 2009), state-level increases drive most minimum wage raises. California ($16.90/hour in 2026), Washington ($16.66/hour), and several other states have substantially higher minimums.
How to Ask for a Pay Raise — Practical Steps
- Research your market value first. Use compensation databases (Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, Payscale, Levels.fyi for tech) to benchmark your role, level, and location against current market data. Know the range before the conversation.
- Time it right. Request a raise during performance review cycles, after completing a significant project, or after taking on substantially more responsibility. Avoid asking during company-wide budget freezes, layoffs, or after a poor quarter.
- Quantify your contributions. Come prepared with specific examples: revenue generated, cost savings, projects delivered, efficiency improvements, or team size managed. Numbers are more persuasive than adjectives.
- State a specific number. Asking for "a raise" is less effective than asking for "a 7% increase." Anchoring on a specific number shifts the conversation to negotiation rather than possibility.
- Consider the full package. If base salary is constrained, negotiate other elements: remote work flexibility, equity/stock, additional PTO, professional development budget, title change, or performance bonuses.
- Know your BATNA. Your Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement is your leverage. A competing offer is the most powerful negotiating tool — 80% of men and 70% of women who ask for a raise receive some increase (Zippia data).