How to Calculate Percentage Increase

Percentage increase tells you how much a value has grown, expressed as a percentage of where it started. It is one of the most commonly used calculations in business, finance, and everyday life, from tracking a raise in salary to measuring growth in website traffic.

What Is Percentage Increase?

Percentage increase measures the growth from an original value to a new, larger value. It answers the question: “By what percentage did this go up?” The calculation always compares the size of the change to the original value, not the new one.

Percentage Increase Formula

The result is positive whenever the new value is larger than the original. If the new value is smaller, the same formula produces a negative number, which represents a decrease rather than an increase.

Step-by-Step Example

More Examples

The same three steps apply no matter what you are measuring.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Dividing by the new value instead of the original. Going from $80 to $100, dividing 20 by 100 gives 20%, not 25%. The denominator must always be the starting value.
• Confusing percentage points with percentage increase. If an interest rate rises from 5% to 8%, that is a 3 percentage-point increase, but it is a 60% percentage increase relative to the original 5% ((8 − 5) ÷ 5 × 100 = 60%). These two figures describe different things and are not interchangeable.
• Using the wrong starting value. When a value changes more than once, always compare against the most recent value, not the very first one in the series.

Using the Percentage Increase Calculator

For a quick, error-free result, use the Percentage Increase Calculator. Enter the original and new values and it calculates the percentage increase instantly. If you need to go the other direction and calculate a decrease, see the How to Calculate Percentage Decrease guide.