Unemployment Benefit Calculator - Weekly UI Estimate

An unemployment benefit calculator estimates the Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA), total benefit, monthly support, and replacement rate you could expect from your state unemployment insurance program based on your prior annual income, the filing state, and the number of dependent children.

• • Estimate a new claim: Use it when you have been laid off, are about to file a claim, and want a realistic range for the weekly check before you talk to your state agency.
• • Compare states before a move: Adjust the state field to see how the same prior income would translate into different weekly amounts under each state's minimum, maximum, and dependent rules.
• • Plan household cash flow: Translate the weekly amount into a monthly support estimate so you can compare the benefit against mortgage, rent, and other fixed costs during unemployment.
• • Check the replacement rate: See the weekly benefit as a percentage of your prior weekly wage to understand how much of your usual income state UI would replace.

State unemployment insurance programs are not a national formula. Each state sets its own maximum, minimum, dependent allowance, and standard duration. The unemployment benefit calculator applies the high-quarter method (HQ divided by 26) and clamps the result to the state's published minimum and maximum.

Use this as a planning worksheet, not as a decision from your state agency. The actual amount, eligibility, and weeks of payment are decided by the state agency after reviewing your base period wages and any non-monetary eligibility rules. If you are comparing the regular state UI estimate with the historical FEMA LWA supplement, the Lost Wages Assistance Calculator covers the separate 2020 program that some claimants still see on old deposit records.

The unemployment benefit calculator estimates your high-quarter earnings, divides by 26 to get a base weekly amount, clamps the result to your state's minimum and maximum weekly benefit, and adds any published per-dependent allowance.

• Prior annual income: Gross wages from the base period. The calculator uses 27.5 percent as a representative high-quarter estimate.
• State: Where you will file the claim. The state's minimum, maximum, dependent allowance, and benefit duration are looked up from the calculator's state table.
• Dependent children: Number of children under 18. Only Alaska, Connecticut, and Illinois publish a per-child weekly allowance.
• Total maximum benefit: Weekly benefit multiplied by the state's standard duration (26 weeks in most states).
• Replacement rate: Weekly benefit as a percentage of the prior weekly wage, useful for comparing how much of your normal income state UI replaces.

For a 55,000 dollar annual income in California with no dependents, the unemployment benefit calculator estimates a high quarter of 15,125 dollars and a raw weekly benefit of about 581.73 dollars. California caps the weekly benefit at 450 dollars, so the result is clamped to 450 dollars, the total benefit is 11,700 dollars, the monthly support is 1,950 dollars, and the replacement rate is about 42.5 percent of the prior weekly wage of 1,057.69 dollars.

According to U.S. Department of Labor ETA UI Data Dashboard, the national average weekly benefit in the regular program was $483.42 over the twelve months ending April 30, 2026. To see what the after-tax weekly check looks like once federal and state withholding are applied, use the Paycheck Tax Calculator.

The Weekly Benefit Amount formula is short, but the program terms behind it shape every estimate. These four concepts help you decide which numbers belong in the unemployment benefit calculator and which numbers come from your state.

The high-quarter estimate is the largest source of approximation in the calculator. Users who can supply the actual high-quarter wages from a recent pay stub will get a more precise result.

When you want to see how a year of unemployment benefits would fall inside the federal brackets, the Tax Bracket Calculator is a useful next step after the weekly and total amounts are set.

Start with the gross wages from your base period, pick the state where you will file, and adjust the dependent count if you have children under 18. The result updates as you type.

1. 1 Enter prior annual income: Use the gross wages from the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. The calculator estimates 27.5 percent of that as the high quarter.
2. 2 Pick the filing state: Choose the state where you will file the unemployment claim. The state lookup sets the minimum, maximum, dependent allowance, and standard duration.
3. 3 Adjust dependent children: Enter the number of dependent children under 18. The calculator applies a per-child allowance only for the small group of states that publish one.
4. 4 Read the weekly benefit: Use the Weekly Benefit Amount as the realistic range for the weekly UI check after the state maximum and minimum are applied.
5. 5 Compare monthly support and replacement rate: Use the monthly support figure to plan household cash flow and the replacement rate to compare the benefit against your prior weekly wage.

A 60,000 dollar annual income in Illinois with two children produces a high quarter of 16,500 dollars, a raw weekly benefit of 634.62 dollars, and a result clamped to the Illinois maximum of 505 dollars. With the per-child allowance of 60 dollars, the weekly benefit becomes 625 dollars, the total benefit is 16,250 dollars, the monthly support is about 2,708 dollars, and the replacement rate is about 54.2 percent of the prior weekly wage.

If you want to estimate the total household support from unemployment plus any past federal stimulus, the Stimulus Payment Calculator helps you add the one-time stimulus amounts to the weekly UI estimate.

The estimate is most useful when it converts unfamiliar state rules into numbers that match the rest of your household budget.

• • Plan cash flow during unemployment: Translates the weekly UI check into a monthly support figure so you can compare it against rent, mortgage, and other fixed costs during a job search.
• • Compare states with one input: Lets you change the filing state to see how the same prior income would translate into different weekly amounts under each state's published caps.
• • See the replacement rate: Shows the weekly benefit as a percentage of your prior weekly wage, so you can see how much of your normal income state UI replaces in your case.
• • Check cap and floor effects: Quickly reveals whether a claim hits the state maximum, falls inside the range, or sits at the state minimum, which is helpful when comparing two job offers in different states.
• • Combine with tax and severance planning: Pairs naturally with paycheck tax and severance pay tools so you can plan the gap between a layoff and a new job with a full after-tax view.

Treat the unemployment benefit calculator as a worksheet number. The state agency makes the final decision after reviewing base period wages, severance offsets, and any non-monetary eligibility rules, and that decision can differ from this estimate.

For a self-employed reader who is also looking at the SBA loan side of unemployment protection, the Paycheck Protection Program Calculator is the companion estimator for forgivable loan amounts.

The estimate is most sensitive to your state's published maximum and to how the high-quarter estimate lines up with your actual base period wages.

• • This calculator does not determine monetary eligibility, non-monetary eligibility (such as the reason for separation), severance offsets, or how a state will treat base period wages from multiple employers.
• • It estimates gross weekly UI before federal income tax, state income tax, child support offsets, and overpayment recovery, and it does not model federal UI extensions or pandemic-era programs.

The 27.5 percent high-quarter ratio is a useful default but not a universal rule. Seasonal workers and commission-heavy employees can sit well above or below it, and the state agency recomputes base-period wages from your actual records.

According to U.S. Department of Labor ETA UI Frequently Asked Questions, most states use a base period of the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters, divide the highest quarter's wages by 26 to set a Weekly Benefit Amount, and cap the duration at 26 weeks for the regular program.

According to U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, state unemployment insurance laws set the maximum weekly benefit amount, minimum weekly benefit amount, dependent allowances, and benefit duration, and the Significant Provisions of State UI Laws publication tracks them.

Because severance and unemployment benefits are often paid in the same year and some states offset severance against UI, the Severance Pay Tax Calculator is a useful companion before you finalize a separation agreement.