What Is Percentage Change?
Definition
Percentage Change: The measure of by what percent a value rose or fell from its old value: (new − old) ÷ old × 100. A positive result is an increase, a negative one a decrease.
Percentage change shows by what percent a value rose or fell from its old value. Divide the difference by the old value and multiply by 100. A positive result is an increase, a negative one a decrease. For example, a price going from 250 to 300 rises by 20%.
Where it appears in the formulas
percentage change = (new − old) / |old| × 100. For a rise from 250 to 300, the percentage change calculator gives a difference of 50 and a percentage change of 50 / 250 × 100 = 20, or 20%.
How it differs from percentage points
When the values are themselves percentages, a rise from 10% to 12% is 2 percentage points, but as a percentage change it is a 20% increase.