Do raises compound year over year?

Yes. Each raise is calculated on your new, higher salary, so the increases stack. A 3% raise every year for five years turns $60,000 into $69,556 — a 15.93% total gain, not 15% — because every year's raise also earns raises in the years after it.

What is a realistic annual raise percentage to project?

About 3% to 3.5% for a typical year. Employer salary-increase budgets have averaged roughly 3.5% in recent WTW surveys, and merit raises for fully effective employees usually land near 3%. Budget 3% for a cautious outlook, and model a higher rate only for promotion or job-change years.

Should I include inflation in my salary projection?

This projection is in nominal dollars — it does not subtract inflation. If inflation runs at 3% and your raise is 3%, your pay buys about the same amount even though the dollar figure grows. To find the raise you need just to keep up with rising prices, use the Cost of Living Raise Calculator.

How do promotions affect a salary projection?

A promotion usually arrives as a step jump — often 10% or more — on top of the usual annual raise, so a steady-percentage projection understates any year when you move up. Treat the result as a floor: when a promotion lands, rerun the projection from your new salary, or model promotion years separately with a higher raise percentage.

What will my salary be in 10 years?

It depends on your starting pay and yearly raise. At a steady 3% a year, $60,000 grows to about $80,635 after 10 years. At 5% a year, $50,000 grows to $81,445 after 10 years. Enter your own salary and raise above to see your year-by-year path.

What will my future salary be worth in today's money?

Less than the headline figure suggests. This tool shows nominal pay. With inflation at 3.7% (CPI-U, September 2026), discount each future year at that rate to see purchasing power in today's money, or use the Cost of Living Raise Calculator to find the raise needed just to keep up.

Future Salary Calculator

See where your pay is heading: enter your current salary and the raise you expect each year, and project your salary forward — compounded — year by year.

Your projection

Current annual salary

Expected annual raise

Number of years

Projected salary $69,556 Up $9,556 in total over 5 years

Total increase $9,556

Overall growth +15.93%

Projection summary
Current salary	$60,000
Total increase	$9,556
Projected salary	$69,556

Your salary, year by year
Year	Salary	Raise that year	Cumulative gain
1	$61,800	$1,800	$1,800
2	$63,654	$1,854	$3,654
3	$65,564	$1,910	$5,564
4	$67,531	$1,967	$7,531
5	$69,556	$2,026	$9,556

Show the math

Gross figures are mathematical results based only on the values you enter. This is not a payroll, tax, legal, or financial-advice calculation.

Free · No signup · Calculations stay in your browser. How we calculate

A $60,000 salary with a 3% raise every year grows to $69,556 after 5 years — $9,556 more — because each raise is worked out on the new, higher salary rather than the original one.

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How to use this calculator

Enter your current annual salary. Use your gross base pay, before tax and deductions.
Add the raise you expect each year. If you are not sure, 3% is a sensible starting point — it is close to a typical annual merit increase.
Choose a number of years, from 1 to 40. The projected salary, your total increase and a year-by-year table update as you type.

The formula behind the projection

Future salary = current salary × (1 + raise % ÷ 100) raised to the power of the number of years. Because each year starts from the new, higher salary, the growth compounds — it is not simply the percentage multiplied by the number of years.

Worked example: $60,000 with a 3% raise each year reaches $69,556 after 5 years — a total increase of $9,556, or 15.93% overall rather than a flat 15%.

$60,000 at a 3% annual raise
Year	Salary	Raise that year	Cumulative gain
1	$61,800	$1,800	$1,800
2	$63,654	$1,854	$3,654
3	$65,564	$1,910	$5,564
4	$67,531	$1,967	$7,531
5	$69,556	$2,026	$9,556

Why compounding makes small raises add up

A raise does not just add money once — it lifts the base that every future raise is calculated from. At a steady 3% a year, $60,000 becomes about $80,635 after 10 years and about $145,636 after 30 years: growth of roughly 34% and 143%, far more than the 30% and 90% you would get from simply multiplying 3% by the number of years.

That is also why a slightly higher raise early in your career is worth so much: it has more years to compound, and it raises the starting point for every increase that follows.

Choosing a realistic raise percentage

Most employers budget roughly 3–3.5% a year for pay increases, so 3% is a realistic baseline for a steady projection and anything above about 4% usually reflects strong performance, a market adjustment or a promotion. If you are deciding what to request, read our guide on how much raise to ask for before you settle on a number.

What this projection leaves out

The projection assumes the same percentage raise every year, no gaps, and gross pay before tax. It does not include inflation, so it shows nominal rather than real growth — a 3% raise in a year when prices also rise 3% leaves your purchasing power roughly unchanged. It also leaves out promotions and job moves, which usually arrive as larger one-off jumps, plus bonuses, overtime and benefit changes.

Treat the result as a baseline for staying in the same role, and use the Cost of Living Raise Calculator if you want to see the raise you need just to keep up with rising prices.

Where is your pay headed? Enter your current salary and the annual raise you expect, and this calculator compounds that raise year after year to project the salary you are on track to earn. Use the year-by-year table to set savings goals, weigh a job offer, or see how much a slightly bigger raise is really worth over time.