Unemployment Benefits Calculators by State

What changes at the state line

Every state insures against unemployment, but each writes its own arithmetic. The base period — which past quarters of wages count — is broadly similar; what differs is the method: many states divide the wages of your highest-paid quarter by a fixed divisor, others pay a percentage of your average weekly wage, some look at the two best quarters, and a few use a share of the whole base year. Then come the minimum and maximum weekly amounts, which range widely, the number of weeks the state pays, and — in a handful of states — an extra allowance for dependents.

The result is that the same salary can produce a noticeably different weekly check across a state line, and a different total, because weeks differ too. The comparison table puts the formula, the caps and the weeks side by side.

How to use these calculators

Enter your wages by quarter (the page tells you which quarters count) and, where the state allows it, your dependents. You get the estimated weekly benefit, the state maximum, and how many weeks it lasts, with the schedule the page is built on and its review date. Keep in mind that eligibility — why you left the job, whether you are able and available to work, your work-search record — is decided separately by the agency; the calculator estimates the amount, not the approval.

Guides

• States Paying Extra Unemployment for Dependents (2026)
• Unemployment Benefits 2026: How States Set the Weekly Amount
• How Many Weeks of Unemployment Each State Pays (2026)