Understanding percentage increases is a valuable skill, whether you're tracking investment growth, analyzing sales figures, or just trying to understand changes in everyday costs. This article breaks down the formula and offers practical examples, so you can easily calculate percentage increases in any situation.
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Calculate Your Increase Percentage Now! →The Increase Percentage Formula Explained
The increase percentage formula measures the relative change between two values – an original value and a new value. It expresses this change as a percentage of the original value.
Here's the formula:
Percentage Increase = [(New Value - Original Value) / |Original Value|] × 100
Where:
- New Value: The value you are comparing to the original.
- Original Value: The starting value.
- |Original Value|: The absolute value of the Original Value
Steps to Calculate Increase Percentage
- Find the Difference: Subtract the original value from the new value. This gives you the amount of the increase.
- Divide by the Original Value: Divide the increase by the absolute value of the original value. Using the absolute value is important here, so that you can calculate percentage increases from negative starting numbers.
- Multiply by 100: Multiply the result by 100 to express the increase as a percentage.
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Tracking Stock Growth
Suppose you bought a stock for $50, and now it's worth $65. What's the percentage increase?
- Difference: $65 - $50 = $15
- Divide: $15 / $50 = 0.3
- Multiply: 0.3 × 100 = 30%
The stock's value increased by 30%.
Example 2: Sales Increase
A store's sales went from 150 units last month to 180 units this month. Calculate the percentage increase.
- Difference: 180 - 150 = 30
- Divide: 30 / 150 = 0.2
- Multiply: 0.2 × 100 = 20%
The store experienced a 20% increase in sales.
Example 3: Price Change of Fuel
The price of fuel went from $2.00 to $2.75. Calculate the percentage increase.
- Difference: 2.75 - 2.00 = 0.75
- Divide: 0.75 / 2.00 = 0.375
- Multiply: 0.375 x 100 = 37.5%
The price of fuel increased by 37.5%.
Percentage Increase vs. Percentage Decrease
The same formula can be used to calculate a percentage decrease. If the new value is lower than the original value, the result will be a negative percentage, indicating a decrease.
Simplify Calculations with Our Percentage Calculator
While the formula is straightforward, calculating percentage increases can be even easier! Our percentage calculator helps you solve these problems quickly and accurately. Whether you need to find what percent of a number is, figure out what percentage one number is of another, or calculate increase/decrease, our tool can do it all.
Just type in your numbers and get the answer instantly. It's perfect for quick calculations on your phone or computer.
Related Calculations
- To learn how to find what percent of a number is, see our article on calculating the percentage of a number.
- Need to calculate the percent difference between two numbers? Check out our percent difference calculator.