Increase Decrease Percentage Formula: Your Quick Guide

April 24, 2025 3 min read

The increase decrease percentage formula is a fundamental tool for anyone needing to understand changes in values over time. Whether you're tracking business growth, calculating discounts, or analyzing performance metrics, knowing how to calculate percentage change is essential.

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The Basic Concepts

Percentage change represents the extent to which a value gains or loses magnitude. It's expressed as a percentage of the original value. A positive percentage indicates an increase, while a negative percentage indicates a decrease.

Calculating Percentage Increase

To calculate a percentage increase, follow these steps:

  1. Find the Difference: Subtract the original number from the new number.
  2. Divide by the Original Number: Divide the difference by the original number.
  3. Multiply by 100: Multiply the result by 100 to express it as a percentage.

Here's the formula:

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

For example, if a product's price increased from $80 to $100, the percentage increase is:

( (100 - 80) / 80 ) * 100 = 25%

Calculating Percentage Decrease

To calculate a percentage decrease, use a similar approach:

  1. Find the Difference: Subtract the new number from the original number.
  2. Divide by the Original Number: Divide the difference by the original number.
  3. Multiply by 100: Multiply the result by 100 to express it as a percentage.

Here's the formula:

Percentage Decrease = ( (Original Value - New Value) / Original Value ) * 100

For example, if a stock price decreased from $50 to $40, the percentage decrease is:

( (50 - 40) / 50 ) * 100 = 20%

Real-World Applications

The increase decrease percentage formula is used across various fields:

  • Finance: Tracking investment growth or decline.
  • Retail: Calculating discounts and markups.
  • Science: Analyzing changes in experimental data.
  • Daily Life: Comparing prices and understanding changes in personal finances.

Why Use Our Percentage Calculator?

Manually calculating percentages can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Our percentage calculator simplifies the process, providing accurate results with just a few clicks. Whether you need to /blog/work-out-percentage-of-two-numbers, calculate a percentage of a number or determine percentage difference, our tool has you covered. You can even easily figure out a percentage change between two numbers!

Here's how our calculator makes your life easier:

  • Accuracy: Eliminates manual calculation errors.
  • Speed: Provides instant results.
  • Convenience: Accessible on any device, from phones to computers.

Beyond Increase and Decrease: Other Percentage Calculations

Our calculator also assists with other common percentage problems, such as finding what percent of a number is or determining the percentage one number is of another. Need to quickly convert fractions to percentages? We've got that too!

Example Scenario

Let's say your company's revenue increased from $500,000 last year to $575,000 this year. Using our percentage increase calculator, you can quickly find the growth percentage:

( (575,000 - 500,000) / 500,000 ) * 100 = 15%

This helps you clearly communicate your company's growth to stakeholders.

Making Informed Decisions

Understanding and utilizing the increase decrease percentage formula is crucial for making informed decisions in both professional and personal contexts. By using our tool, you can quickly and accurately analyze changes, track progress, and make strategic choices. Whether it's a percentage reduction or a /blog/calculate-percentage-increase, we make it simple.