Did My Raise Beat Inflation?
A raise only counts if it beats rising prices. Put in your old pay, your new pay and when each started to see what the raise is worth after inflation.
Pay
Before the raise
After the raise
Your raise after inflation, August 2025 to August 2026
−0.3%
Your pay rose 3.1% but prices rose 3.4%. Keeping up needed $67,208 a year, so you’re $208 short.
- Pay that would have kept up
- $67,208 a year
- Short by
- $208 a year
- Average hourly earnings
- +3.1% ($36.62 → $37.76)
Official CPI-U data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, through August 2026. These are averages for urban consumers, not advice. Terms
How this works: Method, 5 sources, Checked against 3 worked examples,
How this works
Method
The pay that would have kept up with prices is your old pay × the CPI-U in the month of your new pay ÷ the CPI-U in the month of your old pay. Your real raise is your new pay ÷ that − 1, and the dollar gap is your new pay minus it. Full method
Sources
How it’s tested
3 worked examples for this page are checked by automated tests before every release: given the inputs, the tool must show the expected answer.
Limits
Official CPI-U data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, through August 2026. These are averages for urban consumers, not advice.
Changes
- First version: what a dollar is worth from 1913 to August 2026, your own inflation rate, whether a raise beat inflation, the current rate, the rate by year and 12 year pages.
A worked example: an hourly raise since 2020
Someone earning $22.00 an hour in January 2020 who earns $28.50 in August 2026 got a 29.5% raise. The CPI-U rose from 257.971 to 334.980 over the same months, 29.9%, so keeping up needed $22.00 × 1.2985 = $28.57 an hour. The real raise is $28.50 ÷ $28.57 − 1 = −0.2%: a little behind prices, by $0.07 an hour.
How the real raise is worked out
The pay that would have kept up with prices is your old pay × the CPI-U in the month of your new pay ÷ the CPI-U in the month of your old pay. Your real raise is your new pay ÷ that − 1, and the dollar gap is your new pay minus it.
For context the page shows how average hourly earnings of all private-sector employees (BLS series CES0500000003, seasonally adjusted) changed over the same months. It is a broad average, not a benchmark for any one job, and it starts in 2007 here.
Pay is compared before tax. A raise that keeps up before tax can still fall behind after it, and benefits, hours and bonuses are not counted.
real raise = new pay ÷ (old pay × CPI(new) ÷ CPI(old)) − 1
- Average hourly earnings of private employees rose 3.1% in the 12 months to August 2026, from $36.62 to $37.76. Source: BLS, Average hourly earnings, total private (CES0500000003).
- The CPI-U rose 3.4% over the same 12 months. Source: BLS, CPI-U all items (CUUR0000SA0).
Average pay against prices, year by year
Average hourly earnings of all private employees (annual average of the monthly figures) and the CPI-U annual average, each year’s change, and the real change in pay.
| Year | Average hourly pay | Pay change | Prices (CPI-U) | Real pay change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $36.44 | +4.0% | +2.6% | +1.3% |
| 2024 | $35.06 | +4.0% | +2.9% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $33.70 | +4.5% | +4.1% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | $32.26 | +5.4% | +8.0% | −2.4% |
| 2021 | $30.61 | +4.3% | +4.7% | −0.4% |
| 2020 | $29.36 | +4.9% | +1.2% | +3.6% |
| 2019 | $28.00 | +3.3% | +1.8% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | $27.10 | +3.0% | +2.4% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | $26.31 | +2.6% | +2.1% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | $25.65 | +2.6% | +1.3% | +1.3% |
Show all 18 rowsShow fewer
| 2015 | $25.01 | +2.3% | +0.1% | +2.1% |
| 2014 | $24.46 | +2.1% | +1.6% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | $23.96 | +2.1% | +1.5% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | $23.47 | +1.9% | +2.1% | −0.2% |
| 2011 | $23.03 | +2.0% | +3.2% | −1.1% |
| 2010 | $22.58 | +1.8% | +1.6% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | $22.17 | +2.8% | −0.4% | +3.2% |
| 2008 | $21.57 | +3.1% | +3.8% | −0.7% |
Data: BLS, CPI-U all items (CUUR0000SA0) · BLS, CPI-U all items, seasonally adjusted (CUSR0000SA0) · BLS, Consumer Price Index data · BLS, Relative importance of CPI components, December 2025 · BLS, Average hourly earnings, total private (CES0500000003). Inflation calculator
Frequently Asked Questions
What raise do I need to keep up with inflation?
At least the rise in the CPI-U since your last raise. Over the 12 months to August 2026 that was 3.4%, so a $60,000 salary needed to become $62,038 to keep its buying power.
Should I use annual or hourly pay?
Either: the real raise in percent is the same. Use the same kind of pay for both dates (both yearly salaries, or both hourly rates), and the dollar gap comes out in that unit.
Why compare with average hourly earnings?
It shows whether pay in general kept up, which is a fair yardstick for a raise: if prices rose 3% and average pay 4%, a 3% raise kept your buying power but fell behind the typical worker’s.
Is my pay stored or sent anywhere?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; the amounts are in the page address only so a copied link reopens them.