How Much Does Workers Comp Pay?

Workers Comp Weekly Pay Calculator

Pick your state, enter what you earned the week before the injury, and the calculator returns the weekly check using your state's current cap and floor. The math is the same math the insurance carrier uses to cut your weekly check.

Estimates only. Real benefit amounts depend on the carrier's wage calculation, second-job inclusion rules, and any state-specific modifiers (light-duty wages, retirement offsets, etc.). Confirm with your state workers comp board.

The two-thirds formula in plain words

Almost every state starts the calculation from your average weekly wage, usually written AWW. The AWW is your gross earnings (before taxes) for the 52 weeks before the injury, divided by 52. Overtime usually counts. Tips count if they were reported. Bonuses count in some states and not in others.

Most states then pay two-thirds of that AWW. A few states pay differently: Iowa pays 80 percent of spendable (after-tax) earnings rather than the gross. Texas pays 70 percent for the first 26 weeks, then 75 percent if wages are below a threshold. Pennsylvania uses a sliding scale that drops below 66 percent at very high wages.

The two-thirds figure is not arbitrary. It is meant to mirror what an after-tax paycheck used to look like, because the workers comp benefit is not taxed under federal law. If you earned $900 a week gross before the injury, two-thirds of that is $600, and that $600 lands in your account without federal income tax taken out. The take-home gap is narrower than the headline suggests.

1. Take your average weekly wage in the 52 weeks before the injury.
2. Multiply by two-thirds (66.67 percent in most states).
3. If the result is above your state's weekly cap, you collect the cap.
4. If the result is below your state's weekly floor, you collect the floor.
5. Otherwise, you collect the full two-thirds.

Weekly cap by state, ranked

Every state caps the weekly benefit at a multiple of the state average weekly wage (SAWW). Most cap at 100 percent of SAWW; a few cap at 150 percent; a few cap below 100 percent. This cap is what creates the huge variance between states. The table below lists every US state and DC by the current maximum weekly benefit.

Median across all jurisdictions: $1,281 per week (Ohio). Highest: $2,274 (Iowa). Lowest: $618 (Mississippi). Caps refresh on the state's annual rate cycle, normally on January 1, July 1, or October 1.

Worked examples at three wage levels

Same worker, same injury, three different wage levels, three different states. The cap does the heavy lifting at the top end. The floor catches the bottom. The middle gets the full two-thirds.

That last comparison is the key takeaway. The same $2,400/week worker, same injury, collecting roughly $40,000 more per year depending on which state the injury happened in. Over a 100-week TTD period, the gap is $77,600.

Money paid on top of the weekly check

The weekly check is the part most people mean when they ask how much workers comp pays. It is not the whole bill. Several other categories add up over the life of a claim:

All authorized medical treatment

Doctor visits, surgery, physical therapy, prescriptions, durable medical equipment. There is no deductible and no copay. The carrier pays the provider directly. Some states let you pick the treating doctor; some assign one from a panel.

Mileage to medical appointments

Workers comp reimburses travel to and from authorized medical appointments at the per-mile rate the state sets each year. Many workers never file for mileage because nobody told them to. Keep dated logs and odometer readings.

Permanent partial disability award

Once you reach maximum medical improvement, the doctor assigns an impairment rating, and that rating triggers a separate PPD award paid in weeks. The PPD calculator runs the math on this. PPD is paid on top of the TTD you already received, not instead of it.

Vocational rehabilitation

If the injury prevents a return to your prior job, the carrier may have to pay for retraining, schooling, or job placement help. Workers in physically demanding jobs with permanent restrictions should ask about this directly.

Death benefits and burial costs

If the injury is fatal, the surviving spouse and dependent children receive weekly benefits (usually two-thirds of AWW, capped the same way), and the state covers burial up to a statutory amount (usually $5,000 to $10,000).

What workers comp does not pay for

Knowing what the system does not cover is as important as knowing what it does. Workers regularly assume coverage for things outside the statute and lose the chance to recover those losses another way.

• Pain and suffering. Workers comp is a no-fault system. The trade-off is medical care and wage replacement without proving anyone was at fault, in exchange for giving up the right to sue the employer for emotional distress or pain.
• The first few days of lost work. Most states impose a short waiting period (usually three to seven days) before TTD payments start. If you are out long enough, the waiting period gets paid retroactively, but a one-day or two-day absence often goes unpaid.
• Unauthorized medical care. Treatment that was not approved by the carrier, or care from a provider outside the network where state law requires one, can come back as the worker's responsibility.
• Lost wages from a second job. Most states base the weekly check on the wage at the employer where the injury happened. A few states (Massachusetts, Minnesota, and others) let you combine wages from concurrent employment. Check your state page.
• 100 percent of lost wages. Even at the top end, workers comp replaces two-thirds of the gross, not the full take-home. For high earners hit by the cap, the gap is the lever insurance carriers use to push for an early settlement.

Social Security Disability and the workers comp offset

This part trips up older injured workers. If you collect Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and workers comp at the same time, your combined benefit is capped at 80 percent of your average current earnings, calculated by the Social Security Administration. If your workers comp check plus your SSDI check exceed that 80 percent threshold, the SSDI is reduced (offset) by the excess. The workers comp side is not reduced.

The offset rule is administered by the SSA, not the state. There are settlement-structuring techniques (sometimes called Hartman language) that reduce or eliminate the offset by spreading a lump-sum settlement across the worker's expected lifetime. A settlement that ignores this can cost a worker tens of thousands in lost SSDI.

Frequently asked questions

Is workers comp pay taxable?

No. Under Internal Revenue Code section 104(a)(1), workers compensation paid under a state workers compensation act is excluded from federal gross income. State income taxes also exclude these benefits in every state that has an income tax.

What percentage does workers comp pay?

Most states pay two-thirds (66.67 percent) of your average weekly wage. Iowa pays 80 percent of spendable (after-tax) earnings. Texas pays 70 percent for the first 26 weeks. Pennsylvania uses a sliding scale that drops below 66 percent at very high wages.

How often does the weekly check arrive?

Most carriers pay every two weeks. Some pay weekly. The first check usually arrives two to four weeks after the claim is accepted, with the waiting period paid retroactively if your time out of work crosses the state threshold.

Can my workers comp check be garnished?

Workers comp benefits are exempt from most garnishments under state and federal law. The main exceptions are child support orders and, in some states, restitution for crimes related to the claim itself.

Does workers comp pay if I am fired during the claim?

Yes. The benefit follows the injury, not the employment. Even if you are terminated for unrelated reasons during the claim, TTD and medical continue until the medical event (return to work, release, MMI) that would have ended them anyway. Retaliation for filing is illegal in every state.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Labor, Workers Compensation overview
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation
• OWCP FECA Schedule of Maximum Compensation
• Social Security Administration, Workers Compensation Offset
• IRS Publication 525, Workers Compensation tax treatment

Per-state weekly maximums on this page come from each state workers comp board. Every figure links back to the public record it came from on the relevant state's page.