Salary inflation calculator
Updated Updated for 2026 tax law
Find out if your paycheck kept up with rising prices. Enter what you earned in an earlier year and what you earn now to see the salary you'd need just to break even — and whether your raises were real.
- Your raise (nominal)
- +16.4%+2.95% per year
- Inflation 2021–2026 (Sep)
- +24.3%+4.27% per year
- Real change in buying power
- −6.4%−1.27% per year
- Your September 2026 salary in 2021 dollars
- $51,469
- Raise needed from here to catch up
- +6.9%
How to check your raise against inflation
- Enter your earlier salary and the year you earned it (use annual gross pay; for hourly work multiply by 2,080).
- Enter your current salary and the current year — or tap a "years ago" shortcut.
- The calculator inflates your old pay with the CPI-U to show the salary needed to match it today.
- Compare: a positive real change means more buying power; a negative one means a pay cut in real terms, even if your paycheck grew.
The formula
Real change = salary now ÷ salary needed − 1
(1 + nominal raise) = (1 + inflation) × (1 + real raise)
Example: $55,000 in 2021 → $64,000 in 2026 is a 16.4% raise. Prices rose 24.3% over the same period, so the break-even salary is $68,390 and the real change is −6.4%.
Raise needed to keep up with inflation
| Salary | 2025 | 2023 | 2021 | 2016 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $41,863 | $44,232 | $49,738 | $56,155 | $66,853 |
| $60,000 | $62,795 | $66,348 | $74,608 | $84,233 | $100,280 |
| $80,000 | $83,727 | $88,464 | $99,477 | $112,310 | $133,706 |
| $100,000 | $104,658 | $110,580 | $124,346 | $140,388 | $167,133 |
| $150,000 | $156,987 | $165,870 | $186,519 | $210,581 | $250,699 |
| Total inflation | 4.7% | 10.6% | 24.3% | 40.4% | 67.1% |
Read across: someone who earned $60,000 in 2021 needs $74,608 today just to stand still. Planning to ask for a raise? Use the pay raise calculator to see the new paycheck, and the paycheck calculator for take-home pay.
Why raises often lose to inflation
- Typical merit raises are 3–4%. In 2021–2022 inflation ran at 4.7% and 8.0%, so many workers took real pay cuts despite raises.
- Losses compound. Falling 2 points behind for three years leaves you about 6% poorer, and future raises are percentages of the lower base.
- Job changes usually pay more. Switching employers has historically delivered bigger raises than staying — worth knowing when your real pay is slipping.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted, series CUUR0000SA0 (1982–84 = 100). Annual averages 1913–2025; 2026 uses the latest month published, September 2026. Data retrieved October 18, 2026 from bls.gov/cpi.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my raise beat inflation?
Multiply your old salary by CPI(now) ÷ CPI(then). If your current salary is higher than that, you got a real raise. Example: $55,000 in 2021 needed to become $68,390 by September 2026; a salary of $64,000 is 6.4% behind inflation.
What raise do I need to keep up with inflation?
Prices rose 3.7% over the 12 months to September 2026, so a raise of at least that much keeps your buying power level for the past year. Over the last 5 years you'd need 24.3% in total.
What is a real raise?
Your raise after subtracting inflation: (1 + nominal raise) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. A 5% raise in a year with 3% inflation is a real raise of about 1.9%.
Should I compare gross or take-home pay?
Gross pay is the standard comparison and is what this calculator uses. Tax brackets are inflation-indexed, so a raise that just matches inflation leaves your federal tax share roughly unchanged; Social Security and state taxes may shift slightly.
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Estimates for information only — not tax, legal or financial advice.