Convert mg/L to percent (w/v or w/w) or percent to mg/L, with ppm and ppb equivalents. Water density is assumed unless you enter your own.

Choose a mass/volume or mass/mass basis.

Optional settings

mg/L to Percent Formula

The following formula converts milligrams per liter into the conventional mass/volume percentage (% w/v), meaning grams of solute per100 mL of final solution. For mass/mass percentage (% w/w), meaning grams per100 g of total solution, use the complete solution density ฯ in g/mL: % w/w = (mg/L) รท (10,000 ร—ฯ). Reverse this with mg/L = % w/w ร—10,000 ร—ฯ. See the FDA definitions of w/v and w/w and NIST guidance on percentages and mass fractions.

% = mg / L / 10,000

You can also reverse the conversion with the following relationship:

mg / L = % ร— 10,000

Variables:

  • % is the concentration expressed as percent weight/volume
  • mg/L is the concentration expressed in milligrams per liter

To calculate percent from mg/L, divide the mg/L value by 10,000.

What is mg/L to Percent Conversion?

Converting mg/L to percent changes a concentration from one scale to another. A value in mg/L tells you how many milligrams of a substance are present in one liter of solution. A percent weight/volume value tells you how many grams of a substance are present in 100 milliliters of solution. The w/v relation1% =10,000 mg/L follows directly from the mass and volume units and applies without assuming a particular density or dilute water solution. By contrast, converting mg/L to % w/w requires solution density.

This means the conversion is a straightforward rescaling. Smaller mg/L values produce smaller percent values, while larger mg/L values produce larger percent values in the same proportion.

How to Convert mg/L to Percent?

The following steps convert mg/L to percent w/v. For w/w, include solution density as described above. The denominator is final solution volume or total solution mass, not solvent alone.


  1. First, determine the concentration in mg/L.
  2. Next, use the relationship that 1% w/v = 10,000 mg/L.
  3. Then divide the mg/L value by 10,000 to find the equivalent percent concentration.
  4. Finally, check your answer with the calculator above.

mg/L to Percent Conversion Table

The table below shows sample w/v conversions using % w/v = mg/L รท10,000. It is not a density-independent w/w or ppm table. For mass fraction, ppm = (mg/L) รทฯ and ppb =1,000 ร—ppm, with ฯ in g/mL; mg/L and ppm by mass coincide numerically only at1 g/mL.

Concentration (mg/L) Calculation Percent (% w/v)
100 100 รท 10,000 0.01%
250 250 รท 10,000 0.025%
500 500 รท 10,000 0.05%
1,000 1,000 รท 10,000 0.1%
10,000 10,000 รท 10,000 1%
50,000 50,000 รท 10,000 5%

Example Problem: 

Use the following values as an example problem to test your knowledge.

Concentration = 1,000 mg/L

Percent = 1,000 รท 10,000 = 0.1%

So, a concentration of 1,000 mg/L is equal to 0.1% w/v.