Calculate what a percentage raise means in dollars, or find out how many percent a dollar raise actually represents.
If you have a $50,000 salary and get a 5% raise, the new salary is $50,000 × 1.05 = $52,500 — an increase of $2,500, or roughly $208 more per month before tax.
If instead you've been offered $52,500 and want to know what percentage that represents from a $50,000 salary, use the "From amount" tab — the $2,500 difference works out to 5% of the starting salary.
Subtract the old salary from the new one, divide by the old salary, and multiply by 100. Use the "From amount" tab above and the calculator does this for you automatically.
The figures are gross, i.e. pay before tax. The net increase in your take-home pay will be somewhat lower because tax withholding normally increases with higher income.
Yes, that's a good idea. If your raise is lower than inflation over the past year, you've effectively become worse off even though the dollar amount on your pay stub has gone up — this is called a real-terms pay cut.