Percentage Change Calculator
Find the percentage change between an original value and a new value. Useful for tracking price changes, salary increases, population growth, and any scenario where you need to measure relative change.
Percentage change measures how much a value has grown or shrunk relative to its starting point. It's the standard way to communicate "how much did X go up or down" in everything from stock prices and inflation reports to a kid's growth chart. The formula is simple, but the direction matters and the choice of "original value" can change the answer.
Use this calculator to compute the percent increase or decrease between any two numbers. Enter the original value and the new value; the calculator returns the percentage change with the correct sign (positive for increase, negative for decrease) and the absolute dollar change.
Inputs
Results
Percentage Change
+25.00%
Absolute Change
25
Direction
Increase
Formula
How to use this calculator
- Enter the original (starting) value.
- Enter the new (current) value.
- Read the result: positive means an increase, negative a decrease. The number is the relative change as a percentage of the original.
- For percentage-point vs percentage change: if a rate moves from 5% to 7%, that's a 2 percentage-point increase but a 40% percentage change. The two are not the same and the distinction often matters (especially in interest rate or tax discussions).
Worked examples
Raise
Salary moves from $65,000 to $71,500. Change: +$6,500 Percentage change: +10% A 10% raise sounds nice; in real terms it's about a 6–7% raise once inflation and higher taxes are subtracted, but still a meaningful improvement.
Stock decline
Stock drops from $80 to $60. Change: −$20 Percentage change: −25% To get back to break-even from $60 requires a +33% recovery, not +25%. This asymmetry is why drawdowns hurt more than gains help on the way back.
When to use this calculator
Use this anywhere you compare two values and want to express the difference relative to the starting point: price changes, salary growth, weight loss progress, population shifts, investment returns.
Watch out for two related ideas: - Percentage point change: simple subtraction of two percentages (e.g. tax rate from 22% to 24% = +2 percentage points) - Percent change: the relative move (22% to 24% = +9.1%)
Headlines often conflate these to make a number sound larger.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using the new value as the denominator. Always divide by the original.
- Confusing percentage points with percent change. A rate "going up 2%" can mean either depending on speaker.
- Calculating percentage change with a zero starting value. The math is undefined; report it as "new value from zero" instead.
- Averaging percentage changes naively. A 50% gain followed by 50% loss is not zero — it's a 25% loss. Use geometric means for compound percent changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & further reading
- Percent change explained — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission