Understanding percent increase is a handy skill in everyday life, whether you’re figuring out the change in your grocery bill or analyzing business growth. It’s a straightforward way to see how much a value has grown over time relative to its starting point. This guide will break down the concept and show you exactly how to calculate it.
Understanding the Percent Increase Formula
The core of calculating percent increase lies in a simple formula. It essentially compares the change in value to the original value and expresses it as a percentage. The formula is:
( text{Percentage Increase} = ) ( dfrac{text{Final Value} – text{Starting Value}}{left|text{Starting Value}right|} times 100 )
Let’s break down each part:
- Final Value: This is the new value you are comparing to.
- Starting Value: This is the original value you are comparing from.
- Absolute Value of Starting Value: We use the absolute value to ensure we’re dividing by a positive number, which makes sense when we think about an “increase” from a starting point.
- Multiply by 100: This converts the decimal result into a percentage.
Steps to Calculate Percent Increase
Calculating percent increase is easier than it looks. Just follow these steps:
- Find the Difference: Subtract the starting value from the final value. This tells you the amount of increase.
- Divide by the Starting Value: Divide the difference you calculated in step 1 by the absolute value of the starting value. This gives you the increase as a decimal.
- Convert to Percentage: Multiply the decimal result from step 2 by 100. This expresses the increase as a percentage.
If you end up with a negative percentage after these steps, don’t worry! It just means there was a percentage decrease instead of an increase.
Real-World Example of Percent Increase
Let’s say a popular stock was priced at $150 per share last year. This year, the price has risen to $175 per share. What’s the percent increase in the stock price?
Using the formula and steps:
- Difference: $175 (Final Value) – $150 (Starting Value) = $25
- Divide: $25 / $150 = 0.1666…$ (approximately 0.167)
- Convert to Percentage: $0.167 times 100 = 16.7%$
So, the stock price has increased by approximately 16.7%.
This concept applies broadly. Imagine your website traffic grew from 5,000 visitors last month to 6,200 visitors this month. To find the percent increase in website traffic, you would apply the same calculation.
Using a Percent Increase Calculator
While the formula is straightforward, online percent increase calculators can save you time and effort, especially for quick calculations. These tools automate the steps, allowing you to simply input the starting and final values to instantly get the percentage increase. They are especially helpful when dealing with more complex numbers or when you need to perform multiple calculations.
In conclusion, understanding How To Find Percent Increase is a valuable skill for analyzing changes and growth in various aspects of life and work. By following the formula and steps outlined, or utilizing a percent increase calculator, you can easily determine and interpret percentage increases.
