Pay raise calculator

$
$
%
Your raise
6.03%

$3,500 more a year, or $292 a month

After inflation2.95%
Real gain$1,709
Erased inabout 2.0 years
$32.7k$40.2k$47.7k$55.2k$62.7k05101520the old salarygone in 2.0 yrs$32.7k$40.2k$47.7k$55.2k$62.7k01020the old salarygone in 2.0 yrs

What the new salary buys as inflation runs, in the money of the day it was agreed. The dashed line is the old salary: where the curve crosses it, the raise is gone.

Going from $58,000 to $61,500 is a 6.03% raise - $3,500 more a year, $292 a month. Against 3.0% inflation the real raise is 2.95%, and the new salary buys what the old one did again in about 2.0 years.

How to use this, and the parts people get wrong
  • Enter the salary before and the salary now. The percentage is the easy part; the two lines under it are the ones that matter.
  • A raise below inflation is a pay cut. The tool shows the percentage that would have left you exactly where you were.
  • The erasure year is how long THIS raise lasts if nothing else changes - not a forecast of your pay.

What they gave you against what standing still costs

They raised you 6.03%. Inflation at 3.0% means 3.00% was the raise that would have left you exactly where you were, so the part that actually changed anything is 2.95%.

6.03%the raise on paper
2.95%the raise after inflation
about 2.0 yearsuntil it is erased

What it buys as the years pass

The new salary in today's money, and how it stands against the salary it replaced.

Years onNew salary buysAgainst the old salaryStanding
1$59,709$1,709above
2$57,970$-30below
3$56,281$-1,719below
5$53,050$-4,950below
7$50,005$-7,995below
10$45,762$-12,238below
15$39,475$-18,525below
20$34,051$-23,949below

Questions people ask

How do I calculate a pay raise percentage?
Divide the new salary by the old one, subtract one, and multiply by a hundred. $58,000 to $61,500 is 6.03%, which is $3,500 more a year or $292 a month.
Was my raise actually a raise?
Only the part above inflation was. At 3.0% inflation a 6.03% raise leaves a real 2.95%. A raise below the inflation rate is a pay cut in everything but the wording of the letter.
How long before a raise disappears?
As long as it takes inflation to eat the gap. On these figures the new salary buys what the old one bought in about 2.0 years. That is the honest shelf life of a raise and it is why the next conversation matters sooner than people expect.
What raise would have kept me level?
The inflation rate itself, 3.0% here. Anything less and your pay went down in everything except the number on the payslip.
Is this before or after tax?
Before. Tax on a raise depends on your country, your band and often on what else you earn, so applying one rate would be wrong for most readers. The percentage is the same either way.

Method and sources

  • Standard percentage and compound-growth arithmeticRatio of nominal to inflation for the real raise
The calculation

The raise is the new salary over the old, minus one. The real raise divides that ratio by one plus inflation rather than subtracting inflation from it, which is why 6.03%% against 3%% is 2.94%% and not 3.03%%. The erasure year solves new divided by one-plus-inflation to the power of the years equals the old salary, giving ln(new/old) over ln(1+inflation).

What these figures do not cover
  • Tax is not applied; both salaries are gross, as is the raise.
  • Inflation is held constant, which no real inflation rate has ever been.
  • It assumes no further raises. The erasure year is how long THIS raise lasts if nothing else changes, not a forecast of your pay.
  • Bonuses, pension contributions and benefits that scale with salary are not counted.

Last updated August 2026.

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