Estimate weekly unemployment benefit amount based on prior earnings, state maximum, and benefit duration eligibility.
Unemployment insurance replaces only part of lost wages, and the check is usually smaller than people expect. This calculator takes three inputs - your prior earnings, your state's maximum weekly benefit, and the benefit duration you may qualify for - and returns an estimated weekly amount plus a total payout. It converts earnings to an average weekly wage, applies a simplified replacement rate of about 50%, then caps the result at the state maximum. The thing users get wrong most often: high earners do not get a percentage of their old salary, they get the state maximum, so very different salaries can produce identical checks.
A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.
Input
Annual gross earnings: $52,000 State maximum weekly benefit: $450 Expected benefit duration: 26 weeks
Expected output
Estimated weekly benefit: $450 (uncapped estimate $500, capped at the state maximum) Estimated total payout: $11,700 (26 weeks x $450)
The tool divides $52,000 by 52 weeks for an average weekly wage of $1,000, applies the 50% replacement rate for an uncapped $500 per week, then caps that at the $450 state maximum. The capped $450 multiplied by 26 weeks gives the $11,700 total.
The tool converts the prior earnings figure into an average weekly wage by dividing by 52, then applies the simplified replacement rate of about 50% to get the uncapped weekly benefit. Use gross, pre-tax earnings: state formulas are built on gross wages, so netting out taxes first makes the estimate low.
The uncapped estimate is compared with the state maximum weekly benefit you entered, and the lower value becomes the estimated weekly amount. That amount is multiplied by the duration weeks to show the total potential payout. Because real duration depends on earnings, entering too many weeks inflates the total even when the weekly figure is right.
Not necessarily. The state makes the official determination from its own wage records, base period, and formula, and it must also find you eligible - enough base-period wages, job loss through no fault of your own, and availability to work. Treat the estimate as a planning figure; the state's notice is the number that counts.
Unemployment insurance is meant to replace only part of lost earnings - roughly 40 to 50 percent in most states - and it is capped. In the example above, an uncapped $500 weekly benefit becomes $450 because of the state maximum, so someone who earned far more would still receive $450. Taxes withheld from benefits shrink the check further.
The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.
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