See exactly how much more you'll earn after a salary increase — in dollars, not just percentages.
Current Annual Salary ($)
$
Raise Amount
%
New Annual Salary
$0.00
+$0 / +0%
Extra/Month
—
more per month
Extra/Year
—
more per year
New Hourly
—
vs — before
Old Hourly
—
per hour
New Monthly
—
gross/month
Raise %
—
increase
How to Evaluate a Pay Raise Offer
A 3% raise sounds good until you realize it barely covers inflation. Here's how to think about raises strategically:
New Salary = Current Salary × (1 + Raise%)
Real raise = Raise% − Inflation rate
Example: 4% raise − 3.2% inflation = +0.8% real increase
What's a good raise?
Cost-of-living (2–4%): Just keeps pace with inflation — you're not actually earning more in real terms
Merit raise (5–10%): Meaningful increase that rewards performance
Promotion raise (15–30%+): Expected when taking on significantly more responsibility
Job change (20–40%+): Switching companies is historically the fastest way to increase pay
Pay Raise FAQ
Multiply your current salary by 1.05. Example: $65,000 × 1.05 = $68,250. That's $3,250 more per year, or $270.83 more per month.
Best times: annual performance reviews, after completing a major project, when you've taken on new responsibilities, or when you have a competing offer. Avoid asking right after company layoffs or poor earnings reports.
Average merit raises in the US run about 3–4% per year in normal economic conditions. In tight labor markets (2021–2023), many workers saw 5–8%+ raises. Changing jobs typically yields 10–30% increases.