How to Figure Out Percentage Increase Between Two Numbers

April 24, 2025 3 min read

Understanding percentage increase is a valuable skill, applicable in various real-life scenarios. Whether you're tracking the growth of your investments, analyzing sales data, or simply trying to understand changes in statistics, knowing how to calculate percentage increase is essential. This article breaks down the process into simple steps, and shows how you can use our percentage calculator to quickly find the answer.

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The Percentage Increase Formula

The core concept revolves around understanding the percentage increase formula. It quantifies the relative change between an original value and a new value. Here's the formula:

Percentage Increase = [(New Value - Original Value) / Original Value] * 100

Let's break this down:

  • New Value: The value you are comparing against the original value.
  • Original Value: The starting value.

The result is the percentage by which the original value has increased.

Step-by-Step Calculation

  1. Find the Difference: Subtract the original value from the new value. This gives you the amount of the increase.
  2. Divide by the Original Value: Divide the increase by the original value. This gives you the increase as a decimal.
  3. Multiply by 100: Multiply the decimal by 100 to express the increase as a percentage.

Example Time

Let’s say your company's revenue increased from $100,000 last year to $120,000 this year. Let's calculate the percentage increase:

  1. Find the Difference: $120,000 - $100,000 = $20,000
  2. Divide by the Original Value: $20,000 / $100,000 = 0.2
  3. Multiply by 100: 0.2 * 100 = 20%

Therefore, the revenue increased by 20%.

Real-World Applications

Understanding percentage increase is useful in many situations:

  • Finance: Calculating the growth of investments or returns.
  • Business: Analyzing sales growth, market share changes, or revenue increases.
  • Personal Life: Tracking changes in weight, savings, or other personal metrics.

Percentage increase provides a clear picture of relative change, making it easier to compare different sets of data.

Percentage Increase vs. Percentage Change

It's important to note the difference between percentage increase and percentage change. Percentage increase specifically refers to situations where the new value is higher than the original value. Percentage change, on the other hand, can refer to both increases and decreases. If the result of the percentage increase calculation is negative, it signifies a percentage decrease.

Simplify Calculations with Our Percentage Calculator

While understanding the formula is important, our online percentage calculator can save you time and effort. Simply enter the original and new values, and the calculator will instantly display the percentage increase. Our tool can also help you with other common percentage problems such as finding what percent of a number is (like https://percentagefinder.org/blog/work-out-percentage-of-a-number) and figure out what percentage one number is of another. Its versatility makes it a valuable asset for both simple and complex calculations.

Beyond Percentage Increase: Exploring Other Calculations

While this article focuses on how to figure out percentage increase between two numbers, our website offers a suite of tools to solve various percentage-related problems. For example, you can calculate percentage off to determine discounts or use the fraction to percentage converter for quick conversions. These tools can make everyday calculations much easier.

Conclusion

Knowing how to figure out percentage increase between two numbers is a skill that empowers you to understand and analyze changes in various aspects of life. While the formula provides a solid foundation, our percentage calculator offers a convenient and efficient way to perform these calculations. Embrace both the understanding and the technology to make informed decisions and track progress effectively.