Did your raise beat inflation?
A bigger number on the payslip is not automatically more money. Enter what you earned then and now, and the calculator puts both into the same prices.
Behind inflation by 4.9%.
Put another way: your $70,000 in 2024 buys what $57,050 bought in 2019. Prices here are the CPI-U annual average for the whole country; your own costs depend on rent, fuel and food where you live.
Educational estimate, not financial advice. Everything is calculated in your browser — nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
How this calculator works
Both salaries are converted with the consumer price index: pay × CPI(other year) ÷ CPI(its own year). The real change is the change in what the pay buys, not the change in the number.
The index is the CPI-U for all items, US city average, annual averages. It says nothing about your own rent, childcare or commute, which is where most people feel the difference.
Common questions
How do I know if my raise beat inflation?
Put both salaries into the same year’s prices. If the newer pay, expressed in the older year’s money, is higher than the old pay, the raise beat inflation. The calculator does that in one step.
What raise do I need just to stay level?
Over the last five years prices rose 22.7%, so a salary of $60,000 in 2019 needs to be $73,619 in 2024 to buy the same things.
Should I use gross or net pay?
Either, as long as both figures are the same kind. Gross against gross shows what your employer pays; net against net shows what reaches your account, including tax changes.
Why does the calculator use annual averages?
Because pay is usually thought of per year. Monthly index values jump around with fuel prices; the annual average compares a whole year with a whole year.
Sources
- Consumer prices (CPI-U, annual average)US Bureau of Labor Statistics — CPI-U, all items, US city average, annual average1950–2024
All figures are fetched from the publishers above when this site is built; your browser does not contact them. This site is independent and is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by the Federal Reserve System, any Federal Reserve Bank or any government agency. Nothing here is financial advice.