How the Raise Calculator Works
A transparent breakdown of the 3-layer calculation engine, regional multiplier logic, and international Purchasing Power Parity scaling behind your personalized raise range.
← Try the CalculatorThe Foundation
Your pay is always the anchor.
Unlike generic salary comparison tools, this calculator kinda anchors every calculation to your current pay the exact number you really get on your paycheck. Market benchmarks are used to figure out the "gap" between what you make and what comparable workers make, not to bulldoze your lived financial reality.
The output is a raise range, that begins from where you are today and then moves toward where the market says you should be, at a pace that feels realistic to ask for in one single conversation.
Layer 1
Market Parity Pay
We start by calculating what someone in your field, region, and role level is typically paid. This is called the Market Parity Pay — the wage floor your ask should target over time.
Formula:
Market Parity = Base Group Median × Country PPP × Location Tier × Business Size × Experience
Base Group Medians (USD)
- Retail & Customer Service$38,000
- Food Service & Hospitality$34,000
- Office & Administration$48,000
- Tech & Engineering$98,000
- Construction & Trades$54,000
- Healthcare Practitioners$82,000
Location Tier Multipliers
- 🏙️ Major Metro / High-Cost× 1.35
- 🏘️ Mid-Sized City / Suburbs× 1.05
- 🌾 Small Town / Rural× 0.82
Business Size
- 🏪 Small local shop× 0.78
- 🏢 Medium company× 1.00
- 🏦 Large corporation× 1.22
Global Scaling
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Adjustment
The base group medians are anchored in USD. To make these meaningful for workers in 32 countries, we apply a World Bank PPP coefficient for each country. This converts the USD benchmark into what that pay level is actually worth in your local economy.
For example, a retail worker benchmark of $38,000 USD scales differently in Singapore (multiplier: 1.15, a high-wage economy) versus India (multiplier: 0.18, reflecting purchasing power in local context). The result is a regionally meaningful number, not a raw currency conversion.
| Country | PPP Multiplier | Inflation Floor |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 United States | 1.00 | 3.4% |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 0.85 | 2.8% |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 0.92 | 2.2% |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | 1.15 | 2.5% |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 0.78 | 2.0% |
| 🇮🇳 India | 0.18 | 5.2% |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 0.22 | 4.5% |
| 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 0.10 | 12.0% |
Layer 2
Market Gap
The Market Gap is the difference between the regional market parity pay and your current pay. If you're already at or above market rate, this gap is zero — and your raise recommendation is driven entirely by merit and inflation (Layer 3).
Formula:
Market Gap = max(0, Market Parity Pay − Current Annual Pay)
Layer 3
Merit & Inflation Lift
On top of any market gap, every raise includes a merit + inflation lift — a percentage applied to your current pay based on your country's inflation floor and your unique merit factors.
Merit Factors
- Train / manage new hires+6%
- Extra duties beyond main role+6%
- Reliable, consistent attendance+5%
- No raise in over 1 year+4%
Raise Tier Outputs
- Conservative (Safe Ask) Current Pay + Merit Increase
- Target (Sweet Spot ⭐) Current Pay + Merit + Market Gap
- Aggressive (Go Big) Target × 1.15
Privacy
All calculations run entirely in your browser. No data you enter is sent to any server, stored, or shared. Your pay information never leaves your device.