How to Find How Much Percent Increase

April 24, 2025 3 min read

Understanding how to calculate percent increase is a valuable skill in various real-life scenarios, from tracking business growth to understanding changes in personal finances. It allows you to quantify the relative change between two values, providing a clear picture of growth or decline.

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The Percent Increase Formula

The basic formula for calculating percent increase is straightforward:

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

Let's break down this formula:

  1. New Value: The value you are comparing to the original value.
  2. Original Value: The starting value.
  3. |Original Value|: The absolute value of the original value which is its distance from zero.

This formula works whether you're calculating an increase in sales, a rise in stock prices, or any other scenario where you want to measure growth.

Step-by-Step Calculation

Here’s how to apply the formula in practice:

  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 result by the absolute value of the original value. This normalizes the increase.
  3. Multiply by 100: Multiply the result by 100 to express the change as a percentage.

Example: Suppose a company's revenue increased from $100,000 to $120,000. The calculation would be: [(120,000 - 100,000) / 100,000] * 100 = 20% increase.

Real-World Applications

Calculating percent increase has numerous practical applications:

  • Business: Tracking sales growth, revenue increases, or changes in market share.
  • Finance: Analyzing investment returns, stock price appreciation, or inflation rates.
  • Personal Finance: Monitoring salary increases, budget changes, or changes in expenses.
  • Health & Fitness: Measuring weight loss/gain, increases in exercise performance.

Understanding percentage increase allows for informed decision-making in all these areas.

Using the Percentage Increase Formula with Our Calculator

While the formula is straightforward, our percentage calculator simplifies the process and eliminates the risk of manual calculation errors. Here's how to use it:

  1. Enter the original value in the "Starting Value" field.
  2. Enter the new value in the "Final Value" field.
  3. Click "Calculate".

Our calculator instantly displays the percent increase, saving you time and ensuring accuracy. Plus, it can handle various percentage calculations, such as finding /blog/calculate-percentage-of-a-number and determining /blog/calculate-percentage-increase between two numbers.

Beyond Percent Increase: Other Useful Calculations

Our tool isn't limited to just finding the percent increase. It can also help you with:

  • Finding what percent of a number is: Easily determine percentages like calculating 15% of 200.
  • Figuring out what percentage one number is of another: Quickly calculate what percentage 30 is of 150.
  • Calculating Percent Decrease: Easily determine the percentage decrease, offering a holistic view of change, including decrease from 80 to 60.

For even more complex scenarios, explore our calculators for /blog/profit-percentage-calculator and /blog/sales-growth-percentage-calculator, tailored for business needs.

Conclusion

Knowing how to find how much percent increase is essential for making informed decisions in various aspects of life. While the formula is simple, our percentage calculator provides a quick and accurate solution for all your percentage-related calculations. Try it out today and experience the ease and convenience of accurate percentage calculations!