Understanding how to calculate percentage change is a valuable skill applicable in various real-life scenarios. Whether you're tracking investment growth, analyzing sales figures, or comparing data sets, knowing how to determine percentage change allows you to interpret data effectively. Luckily, this percentage calculator simplifies three common math challenges:
- Finding the percentage of a number (e.g., 15% of 200).
- Determining what percentage one number is of another (e.g., 30 is what percent of 150).
- Calculating percentage increase or decrease (e.g., from 80 to 100).
Quick Percentage Change Calculation?
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Calculate Percentage Change Now! →The Formula for Percentage Change
The basic formula to calculate percentage change is as follows:
Percentage Change = [(New Value - Old Value) / Old Value] * 100
This formula works whether you're calculating an increase or a decrease. A positive result indicates a percentage increase, while a negative result indicates a percentage decrease. Let's break it down:
- Find the Difference: Subtract the old value from the new value. This gives you the amount of change.
- Divide by the Original: Divide the amount of change by the original (or initial) value.
- Multiply by 100: Multiply the result by 100 to express the change as a percentage.
Percentage Change Examples
Example 1: Calculating a Price Increase
Suppose the price of gasoline increased from $3.00 to $3.75 per gallon. To find the percentage change, follow these steps:
- Difference: $3.75 - $3.00 = $0.75
- Divide by Original: $0.75 / $3.00 = 0.25
- Multiply by 100: 0.25 * 100 = 25%
Therefore, the price of gasoline increased by 25%.
Example 2: Calculating a Discount
A store is offering a discount on a jacket. The original price was $120, but it's now on sale for $90. To calculate the percentage discount:
- Difference: $90 - $120 = -$30
- Divide by Original: -$30 / $120 = -0.25
- Multiply by 100: -0.25 * 100 = -25%
The jacket is discounted by 25%. Remember, the negative sign indicates a decrease.
Annual vs. Monthly Percentage Change
When dealing with data collected over time, such as sales figures or economic indicators, you might encounter annual and monthly percentage changes. Here's how they differ:
- Monthly Percentage Change: Reflects the change from one month to the next.
- Annual Percentage Change: Compares a specific month to the same month in the previous year. This helps account for seasonality. It's crucial to use the same reference base period for all calculations. For instance, compare December 2021 to December 2022 for a year-over-year change.
It's also worth noting that an over-the-year percentage change (e.g., December 2021 to December 2022) isn't the same as summing up all the monthly changes in between those periods.
Beyond the Basics: More Percentage Calculations
While percentage change focuses on the difference between two values, other percentage calculations are equally useful: for example, you can work out profit percentage, how to find the percentage of a number, or even add percentages together, all of which can all be made simple using online tools.
Simplify Percentage Change Calculations
Calculating percentage change doesn't have to be a chore. Our percentage calculator offers a quick and easy way to determine the percentage change between two values. Whether you're on your computer or phone, simply enter the starting and ending values, and the calculator will handle the rest, instantly displaying the percentage increase or decrease.
You can also easily find what percent of a number is (/blog/work-out-percentage-of-a-number), figure out what percentage one number is of another (/blog/work-out-percentage-of-two-numbers), or even calculate how much something increased or decreased in percentage terms. Simplify your calculations today!