Work hours & pay
Salary increase calculator
Enter your starting salary, an average yearly raise and how many years ahead to see your projected pay at each milestone and how far it grows.
Use the average raise you realistically expect each year. The projection compounds, so small differences in the rate add up a lot over a long career.
How compounding raises build a salary
Each raise is applied to the salary the last one produced, so pay grows geometrically rather than in equal steps. After a run of years the projected figure is starting salary × (1 + rate ÷ 100) raised to the number of years. The handy shortcut for how long pay takes to double is the rule of 72: divide 72 by the raise rate, so a 3% average raise doubles pay in roughly 24 years.
With the defaults, a $50,000 salary growing at 3% a year reaches $50,000 × 1.03¹⁰ = $67,196 after ten years, an increase of $17,196 and 1.34 times the starting figure. The first year adds only $1,500, but the tenth year's raise is applied to about $65,000, so it adds more than $1,900. That widening gap between early and late raises is the whole effect of compounding.
| After year | Salary | Increase | Total growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $51,500 | $1,500 | 3.0% |
| 3 | $54,636 | $4,636 | 9.3% |
| 5 | $57,964 | $7,964 | 15.9% |
| 10 | $67,196 | $17,196 | 34.4% |
| 20 | $90,306 | $40,306 | 80.6% |
Reading the projection sensibly
This is a straight-line assumption: it treats every year as receiving the same average raise, which real careers rarely do. Promotions and job changes often deliver a single jump far larger than an annual review, while flat years or pay freezes pull the average down. The right rate to enter is your honest long-run average across good years and bad, not the best raise you ever got.
Notice how much the rate matters over time. Over 20 years a 2% average turns $50,000 into about $74,000, a 4% average into roughly $110,000 and a 6% average into nearly $160,000. A gap of a couple of points, barely noticeable in any single year, decides whether a career roughly doubles pay or triples it. The figures are nominal and before tax, so part of each raise simply offsets inflation; subtract your expected inflation rate from the raise rate if you want the growth in today's buying power rather than future dollars.
Frequently asked questions
How do I project my future salary?
Multiply your current salary by (1 + your average raise) once for each year ahead. At 3% a year, $50,000 becomes $50,000 × 1.03¹⁰ = about $67,196 after ten years.
How long will it take my salary to double?
Divide 72 by your average raise rate for a quick estimate. At a 3% raise it takes roughly 24 years, at 6% about 12 years, and at 9% around 8 years.
Does the projection account for inflation?
No, the figures are nominal. To see growth in today's buying power, subtract your expected inflation rate from the raise rate before projecting.