A raise in the abstract is exciting. A raise in real terms — after federal tax, state tax, and CPI inflation — is usually quieter. This tool tells you which one you got.
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Percentage and real dollars
Enter your old salary and your new one. See the raise as a percentage, as extra take-home per month, and as total additional pay over the year once tax is accounted for.
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CPI-adjusted
A 4% raise in a 6% CPI year is a pay cut. The tool shows both nominal and real-terms change so you can see which way you're actually going against US inflation.
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Multi-year view
Compare stacked raises across several years — are you keeping pace with the BLS wage index, or quietly falling behind?
Worked example
Input
$72,000 → $80,000 · 3.2% CPI
Output
11.1% nominal raise · 7.7% real-terms · ~$5,600 extra take-home after tax