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What's Your Raise Really Worth?
Enter your salary and raise to see what your salary increase is actually worth. We calculate your after-tax take-home difference, adjust for inflation, and show whether you're gaining purchasing power or just keeping up.
How Much Is a Raise in Dollars?
A 3% raise on $50,000 takes you to $51,500: $1,500 a year, or $125 a month before tax. About $100 a month of it reaches your paycheck after federal and payroll taxes, before state income tax.
A 5% raise on $60,000 takes you to $63,000: $3,000 a year, or $250 a month before tax. About $201 a month of it reaches your paycheck after federal and payroll taxes, before state income tax.
A 3.5% raise on $75,000 takes you to $77,625: $2,625 a year, or $219 a month before tax. About $154 a month of it reaches your paycheck after federal and payroll taxes, before state income tax.
A 4% raise on $75,000 takes you to $78,000: $3,000 a year, or $250 a month before tax. About $176 a month of it reaches your paycheck after federal and payroll taxes, before state income tax.
A 3% raise on $100,000 takes you to $103,000: $3,000 a year, or $250 a month before tax. About $176 a month of it reaches your paycheck after federal and payroll taxes, before state income tax.
A 10% raise on $60,000 takes you to $66,000: $6,000 a year, or $500 a month before tax. About $402 a month of it reaches your paycheck after federal and payroll taxes, before state income tax.
New salary after a raise
Each cell shows the new annual salary and how much more that is per month, before tax.
| Salary | 2% | 3% | 3.5% | 4% | 5% | 7% | 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $40,800 +$67/mo | $41,200 +$100/mo | $41,400 +$117/mo | $41,600 +$133/mo | $42,000 +$167/mo | $42,800 +$233/mo | $44,000 +$333/mo |
| $50,000 | $51,000 +$83/mo | $51,500 +$125/mo | $51,750 +$146/mo | $52,000 +$167/mo | $52,500 +$208/mo | $53,500 +$292/mo | $55,000 +$417/mo |
| $60,000 | $61,200 +$100/mo | $61,800 +$150/mo | $62,100 +$175/mo | $62,400 +$200/mo | $63,000 +$250/mo | $64,200 +$350/mo | $66,000 +$500/mo |
| $75,000 | $76,500 +$125/mo | $77,250 +$188/mo | $77,625 +$219/mo | $78,000 +$250/mo | $78,750 +$313/mo | $80,250 +$438/mo | $82,500 +$625/mo |
| $90,000 | $91,800 +$150/mo | $92,700 +$225/mo | $93,150 +$263/mo | $93,600 +$300/mo | $94,500 +$375/mo | $96,300 +$525/mo | $99,000 +$750/mo |
| $100,000 | $102,000 +$167/mo | $103,000 +$250/mo | $103,500 +$292/mo | $104,000 +$333/mo | $105,000 +$417/mo | $107,000 +$583/mo | $110,000 +$833/mo |
| $125,000 | $127,500 +$208/mo | $128,750 +$313/mo | $129,375 +$365/mo | $130,000 +$417/mo | $131,250 +$521/mo | $133,750 +$729/mo | $137,500 +$1,042/mo |
| $150,000 | $153,000 +$250/mo | $154,500 +$375/mo | $155,250 +$438/mo | $156,000 +$500/mo | $157,500 +$625/mo | $160,500 +$875/mo | $165,000 +$1,250/mo |
What a raise adds to your paycheck after taxes
Extra take-home pay per month. Single filer. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, before any state income tax.
| Salary | 2% | 3% | 3.5% | 4% | 5% | 7% | 10% | Tax on the raise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | +$54 | +$80 | +$94 | +$107 | +$134 | +$187 | +$268 | 19.7% |
| $50,000 | +$67 | +$100 | +$117 | +$134 | +$167 | +$234 | +$335 | 19.7% |
| $60,000 | +$80 | +$121 | +$141 | +$161 | +$201 | +$281 | +$402 | 19.7% |
| $75,000 | +$88 | +$132 | +$154 | +$176 | +$220 | +$308 | +$440 | 29.7% |
| $90,000 | +$106 | +$158 | +$185 | +$211 | +$264 | +$369 | +$528 | 29.7% |
| $100,000 | +$117 | +$176 | +$205 | +$235 | +$293 | +$410 | +$586 | 29.7% |
| $125,000 | +$142 | +$214 | +$249 | +$285 | +$356 | +$498 | +$712 | 31.7% |
| $150,000 | +$171 | +$256 | +$299 | +$342 | +$427 | +$598 | +$854 | 31.7% |
Does the raise beat inflation?
Monthly gain after taxes and after one year of 2.5% inflation, in today's dollars. A minus sign means the raise fell behind prices. Single filer. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, before any state income tax.
| Salary | 2% | 3% | 3.5% | 4% | 5% | 7% | 10% | Raise to break even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | −$18 | +$9 | +$22 | +$36 | +$62 | +$116 | +$196 | 2.7% |
| $50,000 | −$21 | +$12 | +$29 | +$46 | +$79 | +$146 | +$247 | 2.6% |
| $60,000 | −$25 | +$16 | +$36 | +$56 | +$96 | +$176 | +$297 | 2.6% |
| $75,000 | −$40 | +$4 | +$26 | +$48 | +$92 | +$179 | +$311 | 2.9% |
| $90,000 | −$45 | +$8 | +$34 | +$61 | +$114 | +$219 | +$377 | 2.8% |
| $100,000 | −$48 | +$11 | +$40 | +$70 | +$128 | +$245 | +$421 | 2.8% |
| $125,000 | −$59 | +$12 | +$48 | +$83 | +$155 | +$297 | +$511 | 2.8% |
| $150,000 | −$66 | +$19 | +$62 | +$105 | +$190 | +$361 | +$617 | 2.8% |
Hourly raise table
Each cell shows the new hourly wage, rounded to the cent as a paycheck would be, and the extra pay over a full-time year (40 hours a week, 52 weeks), before tax.
| Wage | 2% | 3% | 3.5% | 4% | 5% | 7% | 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15/hr | $15.30 +$624/yr | $15.45 +$936/yr | $15.53 +$1,102/yr | $15.60 +$1,248/yr | $15.75 +$1,560/yr | $16.05 +$2,184/yr | $16.50 +$3,120/yr |
| $18/hr | $18.36 +$749/yr | $18.54 +$1,123/yr | $18.63 +$1,310/yr | $18.72 +$1,498/yr | $18.90 +$1,872/yr | $19.26 +$2,621/yr | $19.80 +$3,744/yr |
| $20/hr | $20.40 +$832/yr | $20.60 +$1,248/yr | $20.70 +$1,456/yr | $20.80 +$1,664/yr | $21 +$2,080/yr | $21.40 +$2,912/yr | $22 +$4,160/yr |
| $22/hr | $22.44 +$915/yr | $22.66 +$1,373/yr | $22.77 +$1,602/yr | $22.88 +$1,830/yr | $23.10 +$2,288/yr | $23.54 +$3,203/yr | $24.20 +$4,576/yr |
| $25/hr | $25.50 +$1,040/yr | $25.75 +$1,560/yr | $25.88 +$1,830/yr | $26 +$2,080/yr | $26.25 +$2,600/yr | $26.75 +$3,640/yr | $27.50 +$5,200/yr |
| $30/hr | $30.60 +$1,248/yr | $30.90 +$1,872/yr | $31.05 +$2,184/yr | $31.20 +$2,496/yr | $31.50 +$3,120/yr | $32.10 +$4,368/yr | $33 +$6,240/yr |
| $35/hr | $35.70 +$1,456/yr | $36.05 +$2,184/yr | $36.23 +$2,558/yr | $36.40 +$2,912/yr | $36.75 +$3,640/yr | $37.45 +$5,096/yr | $38.50 +$7,280/yr |
| $40/hr | $40.80 +$1,664/yr | $41.20 +$2,496/yr | $41.40 +$2,912/yr | $41.60 +$3,328/yr | $42 +$4,160/yr | $42.80 +$5,824/yr | $44 +$8,320/yr |
The after-tax figures match take-home pay in Texas, Florida and the other states with no income tax, except Washington, whose paid-leave payroll tax takes another 0.8% of pay. Elsewhere your state takes a little more of each raise; enter your state in the calculator above for your exact numbers.
How to Calculate a Pay Raise
To calculate a pay raise percentage: (New Salary − Old Salary) ÷ Old Salary × 100. For example, going from $80,000 to $83,200 is a 4% raise. But that's just the gross number — your actual raise after taxes is lower because the increase is taxed at your marginal rate, not your average rate.
To find your real raise after taxes and inflation, you need to: (1) compute taxes at both your old and new salary, (2) subtract the difference in taxes from your gross raise to get your after-tax raise, then (3) subtract the purchasing power lost to inflation since your last raise. The result is your real raise — and it's often much smaller than the headline number.
How This Pay Raise Calculator Works
Most salary increase calculators just multiply your salary by a percentage. This one goes further. It computes your actual federal, state, and FICA taxes at both your old and new salary, then shows you the real take-home difference. That matters because your raise is taxed at your marginal rate, not your average rate.
After-tax raise: We run a full tax computation for both salaries using 2026 brackets and rates (including provisions from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), then diff the results. The difference is your actual take-home raise, which is always less than the gross raise.
Inflation adjustment: A raise that doesn't beat inflation is effectively a pay cut. We use actual historical CPI-U data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for each year since your last raise — not a single flat rate. This matters because recent inflation varied wildly (8% in 2022, 4.1% in 2023, 2.9% in 2024). To see those same figures on their own, or to check what a salary from any year is worth today, use the inflation calculator, which also breaks inflation out by spending category. Someone who hasn't had a raise in five years has seen about 21.7% cumulative inflation, not the 13.1% a flat 2.5% rate would suggest. We apply this to your previous take-home pay to calculate how much of your raise just keeps you even, and how much is a real gain.
Income percentile: Using Census PUMS microdata, we show where your old and new salary rank among all U.S. households, so you can see whether your raise meaningfully changed your position.
Benchmark comparison: The average merit raise in 2026 is projected at 3.5% (source: WTW and Mercer salary surveys). We compare your raise against this benchmark to give you context.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much is a 3% raise on $50,000?
- $1,500 a year, taking you to $51,500. That is $125 a month before tax and about $100 a month after federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, before any state income tax. The tables above show every common salary from $40,000 to $150,000.
- How much is a 5% raise on $60,000?
- $3,000 a year, for a new salary of $63,000: $250 a month before tax and about $201 a month after federal and payroll taxes, before state income tax. After a year of 2.5% inflation, that is a real gain of about $96 a month.
- Is a 3% raise good?
- It is slightly below the projected 2026 average merit raise of 3.5%, and slightly above the 2.6% it takes on $60,000 just to keep up with 2.5% inflation. On a $60,000 salary, a 3% raise adds $150 a month before tax and about $121 after federal and payroll taxes. Once a year of 2.5% inflation is counted, that is a real gain of about $16 a month. Use the calculator above for your own salary, state and time since your last raise.
- How much is a $1 an hour raise per year?
- About $2,080 a year before tax for a full-time schedule (40 hours a week, 52 weeks). A 50-cent raise is about $1,040 a year. Part-time, multiply the raise by your weekly hours and then by 52.
- Is not getting a raise the same as a pay cut?
- Effectively, yes. If prices rise 2.5% and your salary stays flat, your pay buys 2.5% less. Five years without a raise, 2022 through 2026, means prices rose about 21.7%. Because a raise is taxed at your marginal rate, getting back to where you started takes more than that: about 24.3% for a single filer on $60,000, before state income tax.
- How much of my raise goes to taxes?
- Your raise is taxed at your marginal rate, not your average rate. For a single filer, federal income tax plus Social Security and Medicare take 19.7% of a raise on $60,000 and 29.7% of a raise on $75,000, before any state income tax. The calculator above adds your state and filing status.
- Will a raise push me into a higher tax bracket?
- Tax brackets are progressive, meaning only the income within each bracket is taxed at that rate. A raise might push part of your income into the next bracket, but it won't make your entire salary taxed at a higher rate. You always take home more money with a raise.
- What is the average raise in 2026?
- The average merit increase is projected at 3.5% for 2026 (source: WTW and Mercer salary surveys), with total compensation increases (including promotions) averaging slightly higher. This varies by industry: tech and financial services tend higher, healthcare slightly lower. Job-switching typically yields 10% to 20%.
- What raise do I need to keep up with inflation?
- With 2.5% inflation, a single filer earning $40,000 to $150,000 needs a raise of about 2.6% to 2.9% just to break even after federal and payroll taxes. It is more than the inflation rate because the raise is taxed at your marginal rate, but less than you might expect because only your take-home pay has to keep up with prices. State income tax pushes it a little higher; the "What raise should I ask for?" section of the calculator finds your exact number.
- Did my raise keep up with inflation?
- It depends on how long it's been since your last raise. The current trailing rate is about 2.5%. If it's been 5 years or more, the gap includes 2022's 8% spike. The calculator above uses actual year-by-year BLS inflation data and accounts for taxes, so it gives you the precise answer.
- How much should I ask for in a raise?
- To genuinely improve your financial position, aim for at least inflation plus 1% to 2% (so 3.5% to 4.5% in the current environment). Promotion-level raises average 8.5%. If you're considering switching jobs, the typical bump is 10% to 20% or more. Use the "What raise should I ask for?" section of the calculator above to find the exact percentage you need for a specific monthly gain.
- What if I haven't had a raise in 2 or 3 years?
- The longer it's been since your last raise, the more inflation has eroded your purchasing power. Using actual CPI, two years back from 2026 adds up to about 5.2% and three years to about 8.2%. Use the 'Time Since Last Raise' input to tell the calculator how many years it's been, and it compounds each year's rate for you.