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Pay Raise Calculator
A 5% raise sounds simple — here's what it means in actual money. Start from your current hourly rate or your annual salary, apply the raise, and see the increase per year and per month.
Your current pay
Your pay after the raise
| Current annual pay$20.00 × 40 hrs × 52 | $41,600.00 |
| New annual pay$21.00 × 40 hrs × 52 | $43,680.00 |
| Increase per year | $2,080.00 |
All figures are gross pay before taxes and deductions — the increase in your take-home pay will be smaller than the increase shown here.
How the math works
Everything is built from the hourly rate. If you start from an annual salary, it's converted first (salary ÷ hours per week ÷ 52):
If you already know the new rate you're being offered, use the "new hourly rate" option instead — the calculator works out the percentage and the annual difference for you.
Worked example (in USD)
You earn $20/hour, work 40 hours a week, and get a 5% raise:
New rate: $20 × 1.05 = $21/hour
Annual pay: $41,600 → $43,680
Increase: $2,080 a year, which is $173.33 a month.
Common gotchas
- A percentage of a small base is small money. 5% sounds meaningful, but on $15/hour it's 75 cents an hour. Always translate a raise into the annual figure before deciding how you feel about it.
- Gross increase ≠ take-home increase. Taxes and percentage-based deductions (like retirement contributions) take a slice of the raise too, so the extra amount per paycheck will be less than the gross weekly increase.
- Check the effective date. A raise announced now may start next quarter, and the first check may only include part of the period at the new rate. A mid-year start also means this year's actual extra pay is less than the full annual increase.
- Raises compound. Next year's percentage raise applies to the new, higher rate — one reason a slightly larger raise now is worth more than it looks over a few years.
- Compare against inflation. If prices rose 3% and your raise is 3%, your pay buys the same as before — the increase is real in dollars but flat in purchasing power.