How to Calculate Percentage Increase: Formula & Examples

Whether you’re negotiating a raise, comparing prices, or tracking growth in a spreadsheet, percentage increases come up constantly — and they’re easier to get wrong than most people realize. The formula is simple: subtract your old value from the new one, divide by the old value, then multiply by 100. But the applications get trickier once you factor in Excel shortcuts, salary benchmarks, and the occasional counterintuitive result (yes, 300% increase really does mean 4× the original). This guide walks you through the math, the shortcuts, and the real-world examples that stick.

Standard Formula: (new value – old value) / old value × 100% · 5% Increase on $100: $105 · From ₹250 to ₹300: 20% · Excel Formula: =(B2-A2)/A2*100 · Typical Annual Raise: 4-5%

How do you calculate a percentage increase?

The standard percentage increase formula works the same whether you’re comparing prices, salaries, or plant heights: take the difference between the new value and the original value, divide by the original, then multiply by 100 to get your percentage. According to Academy of Learning (Excel education resource), the core formula is (New Value – Original Value) / Original Value. A positive result means your value went up; a negative result means it went down.

The basic percentage increase formula

Here’s the formula written out in plain math:

• Percentage Increase = ((New Value – Original Value) / Original Value) × 100

The formula works because dividing by the original value “normalizes” the change — it tells you what fraction of the original amount the increase represents. Wall Street Prep (financial training platform) notes that multiplying by 100 simply converts that fraction into the percentage format we recognize.

Step-by-step calculation process

1. Subtract the original value from the new value (difference = new – original)
2. Divide the difference by the original value
3. Multiply by 100 to convert to percentage

For a concrete example, if you invested $1,000 and it grew to $1,200, the increase is $200. Dividing $200 by $1,000 gives 0.2, and multiplying by 100 gives 20%. Your investment returned 20%.

What is a 5% increase of $100?

A 5% increase on $100 equals $5, making the new total $105. The math is straightforward: 5% of 100 is 5 (because a percentage represents a fraction of 100), and you add that to the original amount. This type of calculation comes up constantly — in pricing adjustments, sales discounts, and tip calculations.

Calculating fixed percentage increases

There are two equivalent methods for applying a fixed percentage increase:

• Method 1: Calculate the increase amount, then add to original → $100 + ($100 × 0.05) = $105
• Method 2: Multiply by a single multiplier → $100 × 1.05 = $105

The multiplier method (Method 2) is faster in Excel and mental math. As Excel tutorial creators demonstrate, multiplying by 1.1 increases by 10%, by 1.2 increases by 20%, and by 1.3 increases by 30%.

Examples for 4%, 5%, and 20%

• $100 + 4% = $100 × 1.04 = $104
• $100 + 5% = $100 × 1.05 = $105
• $100 + 20% = $100 × 1.20 = $120

Notice the pattern: the percentage (4, 5, 20) becomes the decimal multiplier when you add it to 1. This works in reverse too — a 15% decrease means multiplying by 0.85.

A percentage is a number or ratio that represents a fraction of 100. That’s the entire concept — nothing more complicated than splitting something into 100 equal parts and seeing how many of those parts you have.

— Excel education content creator, explaining fundamental percentage concepts

What is the percentage increase if 250 is increased to 300?

Going from 250 to 300 is a 20% increase. Applying the formula: (300 – 250) / 250 × 100 = 50 / 250 × 100 = 0.20 × 100 = 20%. This example is particularly common in pricing scenarios — think of a product that costs ₹250 today but will retail for ₹300 after a price adjustment.

Percentage increase between two numbers

The “250 to 300” calculation illustrates a key principle: when calculating percentage increase between any two numbers, always identify which is the original (starting point) and which is the new value. Using MacAbacus (financial modeling resource), the Excel formula =((B3-B2)/B2)*100 calculates this automatically once you input your two values in cells B2 and B3.

• Difference: New value minus original = 300 – 250 = 50
• Proportion: 50 / 250 = 0.20
• Percentage: 0.20 × 100 = 20%

Real pricing change scenarios

Price increases follow this formula exactly. If a supplier raises a product from ₹250 to ₹300, the 20% increase affects purchasing decisions, cost projections, and budget allocations. According to Wall Street Prep, percentage change calculations are essential for tracking year-over-year growth rates in Revenue and Net Income.

How to calculate percentage increase in salary?

Salary increases use the exact same formula as any other percentage calculation. According to Excel salary tutorials, the salary increment percentage is calculated as (New Salary – Current Salary) / Current Salary. If your salary went from $65,000 to $68,250, that’s a 5% raise ($3,250 / $65,000 = 0.05 = 5%).

Salary raise percentage calculator

To calculate your raise percentage manually:

1. Subtract your current salary from your new salary
2. Divide that difference by your current salary
3. Multiply by 100

For example: New salary $72,000 – Current salary $68,000 = $4,000 difference. $4,000 / $68,000 = 0.0588 = 5.88% raise. As Excel tutorial creators explain, you can also calculate the new salary directly without finding the percentage first by using: Existing Salary × (1 + Percentage Increase). For instance, $68,000 × 1.0588 = $72,000.

Is a 4.7% raise good?

Common annual raise benchmarks fall in the 4-5% range for consistent performance, according to general industry standards. A 4.7% raise sits in the typical range for satisfactory performance. However, “good” depends heavily on inflation rates, industry norms, and your market value — a 3% raise might be excellent in a tight market, while 6% might be expected in high-growth sectors. The formula remains constant; the interpretation depends on context.

How to increase a number by a percentage?

Increasing a number by a percentage means taking the original amount and adding the calculated percentage of that amount. There are two main approaches: the additive method (calculate increase, then add) and the multiplier method (multiply by 1 plus the decimal form of the percentage).

Direct multiplication method

The fastest way to increase any number by a percentage:

• New Value = Original × (1 + percentage as decimal)
• Increase by 7% → multiply by 1.07
• Increase by 12% → multiply by 1.12
• Increase by 25% → multiply by 1.25

This method is especially useful because it works in reverse for decreases: multiply by 0.93 to decrease by 7%.

Excel formula for percentage increase

In Excel, you’ll want to master two key formulas. First, for calculating percentage change between two cells:

• =((B2-A2)/A2)*100 — calculates percentage change from A2 to B2

Second, for increasing a value by a percentage stored in another cell:

• =A2*(1+B2) — increases A2 by the percentage in B2

Academy of Learning recommends using absolute references ($) when copying formulas down multiple rows so the base percentage stays constant. Without the dollar sign, cell references shift as you copy and produce incorrect results.

In the percentage change formula, the difference calculation (B3-B2) finds the absolute change, dividing by the original normalizes it relative to your starting point, and multiplying by 100 converts it to readable percentage form. Each step has a specific purpose.

— MacAbacus (financial modeling resource)

How to calculate percentage increase or decrease in Excel?

Excel handles both increases and decreases with the same formula — the sign of your result tells you which direction the change went. Positive = increase; negative = decrease. According to Microsoft Support (official documentation), the formula =(2500-2342)/2342 calculates to 0.06746, which equals 6.75% when formatted as percentage.

Formatting decimal results as percentages

After entering your formula, you need to format the result as a percentage:

• Windows: Ctrl + Shift + %
• Mac: ⌘ + Shift + %
• Or: Right-click → Format Cells → Percentage

Without formatting, Excel displays the raw decimal (0.06746) rather than the human-readable percentage (6.75%). This is a common source of confusion when formulas are technically correct but displays look wrong.

The alternative percentage change formula

An equivalent formula, as described by Wall Street Prep, uses division instead of subtraction:

• Alternative: (Ending Value ÷ Beginning Value) – 1

Both formulas produce identical results. The alternative is useful when you’re comparing against a known benchmark or when the ending value is more salient than the raw difference. If revenue went from $2.5M to $3.2M, (3.2M ÷ 2.5M) – 1 = 1.28 – 1 = 0.28 = 28% increase.

Related reading: calculate EV charging costs

In salary raise scenarios, applying the core formula becomes straightforward when following a percentage increase formula guide with practical steps and diverse examples.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Academy of Learning — Excel percentage calculation guide
• Microsoft Support — Calculate percentages
• Wall Street Prep — Percent change formula
• MacAbacus — Percentage change in Excel

For everyday math, the percentage increase formula is genuinely one of those skills that pays off every time you use it. Employees who can calculate their raise percentage accurately avoid being undersold in negotiations. Shoppers who understand percentage discounts spot better deals. Analysts who master the Excel shortcuts complete in minutes what takes others hours.