Sumwise

Percentage Change from 50 to 20

From 50 to 20 is a 60% decrease

Change
-60%
Difference
-30
New ÷ old
0.4
Direction
decrease

Sumwise · Maintained by Theo Abbott (pen name) · automated checks · Data: exact arithmetic; unit definitions from NIST SP 811 · Updated · How the checks work

How to work it out

  1. Difference: 20 − 50 = -30
  2. Divide by the starting value: -30 ÷ 50 = -0.6
  3. Multiply by 100: -60%
  4. Check: Work forwards from the start: 50 × (1 − 0.6) = 50 × 0.4 = 20.

In a spreadsheet: =(20-50)/50*100. Always divide by the starting value, not the new one. A rise from 40 to 50 is +25%, but the fall from 50 back to 40 is −20%.

What the result means

The new value is 40% of the old one: for every 100 at the start there are now 40, so 60 out of every 100 have gone.

Sales: a price cut from $50 to $20 is a 60% discount.

Why the change back is different

A 60% fall followed by a 60% rise does not bring you back to 50: it gives 32. The second percentage is taken of 20, not of 50, so to undo this change you need 150% instead.

Related results

Results for nearby numbers
50 to 18

From 50 to 18 is a 64% decrease

50 to 19

From 50 to 19 is a 62% decrease

50 to 21

From 50 to 21 is a 58% decrease

50 to 22

From 50 to 22 is a 56% decrease

50 to 30

From 50 to 30 is a 40% decrease

The other way round: Percentage change from 20 to 50. Percentage change is not symmetric: from 50 to 20 is -60%, but from 20 back to 50 is 150%, because the starting value is the base. For a comparison that is the same both ways, use the percentage difference between 20 and 50: 85.7143%. See Percentage difference between 20 and 50.

Practice

10 to 72
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From 10 to 72 is a 620% increase

26 to 35
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From 26 to 35 is a 34.6154% increase

58 to 46
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From 58 to 46 is a 20.6897% decrease

81 to 85
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From 81 to 85 is a 4.9383% increase

37 to 18
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From 37 to 18 is a 51.3514% decrease

98 to 77
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From 98 to 77 is a 21.4286% decrease

Calculate another

How answers are calculated and checked: methodology.

Questions

Percentage Change from 50 to 20

Going from 50 to 20 is a 60% decrease. Formula and steps.

Is going from 50 to 20 an increase or a decrease?

A decrease: the value fell by 30, which is 60% of the starting value.

What is the percentage change from 20 back to 50?

150%. It is a different number because the starting value is now 20, not 50.