What is a cost of living adjustment?

A COLA is a raise tied to the inflation rate (usually CPI-U). Federal employees, Social Security, and some union contracts get automatic COLAs. If your employer calls a 3% raise a COLA and inflation is 3.3%, you are not getting a raise, you are getting topped up to match what your last year salary bought.

Should I negotiate for more than they offered?

Almost always yes. The median bump for counter-offering is 5% more than the first number (SHRM compensation data, 2024). Bring market data from Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, or BLS OES, and ask for a specific number, not a range. Worst case, they say no and you still have the original offer.

Pay Raise Calculator

Q: Is 3% a good raise in 2026?

It depends on inflation. March 2026 CPI-U is running 3.3% year over year. A 3% raise is essentially a real-dollar pay cut of 0.3%. To stay even you need a raise that matches or beats inflation; to actually grow, you need to beat it by a point or two.

Q: How much of my raise goes to taxes?

For most salaried workers between $60k and $200k, plan on 30 to 40 cents of every raise dollar disappearing into federal (12-24%), FICA (7.65%), and state tax (0-10% depending on where you live). The exact split depends on your bracket and state.

Enter your current and new salary. See federal and state take-home, monthly bump, and the inflation-adjusted real raise.

Current salary

Annual Hourly

Gross, pre-tax. If you're hourly, switch the toggle and we annualize at your hours × 52 weeks.

Raise

Percent % Flat $

Percent applies to current salary. Flat adds a dollar amount to current annual gross.

State

Pay frequency

Filing status

Single Married filing jointly Head of household

Advanced options

Custom inflation rate (%)

Override if you want to model with a different inflation number. Default is the latest BLS CPI-U YoY release.

Monthly take-home bump

Effective raise after tax

Real raise vs inflation

Before

Annual gross: —
Annual take-home: —
Per paycheck: —

After raise

Annual gross: —
Annual take-home: —
Per paycheck: —

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Federal tax delta

State tax delta

FICA delta

Share of raise lost to tax

Estimates only, not tax advice. Uses 2026 federal brackets (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 FICA wage base ($184,500), and state income tax tables from Tax Foundation. Does not model local/city tax, pre-tax 401(k) or HSA, RSU vesting, or bonus withholding. For a real plan, talk to a CPA or enrolled agent.

Take-home -

What this calculator does that others don't

Every other "pay raise calculator" I tested does one of two things wrong. Either it ignores tax entirely and gives you a gross number that flatters your ego, or it's a paycheck calculator that makes you compute twice and subtract by hand. Neither answers the question you actually have, which is will this raise feel like a raise when the new direct deposit hits.

PayRaiseCalc runs the full stack on both the current and new salary. 2026 federal brackets. 2026 FICA wage base. State tax for all 50 states plus DC. And it compares the nominal raise to the latest CPI-U print so you can see whether you're actually moving forward or just running on the inflation treadmill. Read the full methodology if you want the math spelled out.

Common questions

Is 3% a good raise in 2026?

Depends on what inflation is doing. March 2026 CPI-U ran 3.3% year over year. A 3% raise is a 0.3% real pay cut, you lost ground. To stay flat you need to beat inflation; to make real progress you need inflation plus at least a point or two. In a 2% inflation world, 3% is fine. In a 5% world, 3% is rough.

How much of my raise goes to taxes?

For most salaried workers in the $60k to $200k band, plan on 30 to 40 cents of every raise dollar getting skimmed by federal (marginal 12 to 24%), FICA (7.65% up to the wage base), and state (0 to 10% depending on where you live). A $5,000 raise in California at the $100k level nets closer to $3,000. A $5,000 raise in Texas at the same level nets closer to $3,450. Plug your numbers in above to see your exact breakdown.

What's a cost of living adjustment?

A COLA is a raise indexed to inflation, usually CPI-U or CPI-W. Federal employees, Social Security, and some union contracts get automatic COLAs every year. In a company, an annual "3% COLA" when inflation is running 3.3% is not a raise, it's a top-up to keep your buying power flat. If your employer is calling a COLA a merit raise, that's a bad-faith framing.

Should I negotiate for more?

Almost always yes. SHRM compensation data shows the median counter-offer nets an extra 4 to 7% above the first number. Bring market data (Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, BLS OES), ask for a specific dollar figure instead of a range, and frame it around your impact from the last year. Worst case they say no, you still have the original offer, and nobody got offended. More on this in our negotiation playbook.

See the full FAQ →