United States · unemployment insurance
How long can I collect unemployment?
Turn your weekly benefit and base-period wages into a maximum total and number of weeks, using the state formula the Department of Labor publishes.
An estimate, not a claim decision
Your state agency sets your maximum benefit and weeks. Some states pay fewer weeks when unemployment is low, and extended benefits are not included. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Your claim
Maximum benefit
How it works
Most states cap your total benefit at the lesser of a share of your base-period wages or a set number of weeks times your weekly benefit amount. Texas, for example, pays the lesser of 27% of base-period wages or 26 times the weekly amount. Some states pay a fixed number of weeks (Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Puerto Rico and West Virginia: 26 weeks; Hawaii: 26 times the weekly amount; Oklahoma: 16 times), and Utah pays 27% of base-period wages. The number of weeks shown is the total divided by your weekly amount.
15 jurisdictions are not calculated (Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia): they use weighted schedules, credit weeks, or the DOL table shows a total-benefit rule and a weeks-payable range that do not match. For those, see the Max Weekly Unemployment Benefit by State page or your agency.
| State | Total benefit rule (DOL, July 2026) | Weeks payable |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Lesser of 1/4 of base-period wages or 14 x WBA | 14 |
| Arkansas | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 12 x WBA | 9-12 |
| California | Lesser of 1/2 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 14-26 |
| Colorado | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 13-26 |
| Connecticut | Uniform duration of 26 weeks | 26 |
| Delaware | Lesser of 1/2 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 24-26 |
| District of Columbia | Uniform duration of 26 weeks | 26 |
| Florida | Lesser of 25% of base-period wages or 12 x WBA (weeks depend on the state unemployment rate) | 9-12 |
| Hawaii | 26 x WBA | 26 |
| Illinois | Lesser of 26 x WBA (plus dependents’ allowance) or base-period wages | 26 |
| Indiana | Lesser of 28% of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 26 |
| Iowa | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 16 x WBA | 10-16 |
| Maine | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 15-26 |
| Maryland | Uniform duration of 26 weeks | 26 |
| Massachusetts | Lesser of 36% of base-period wages or 30 x WBA | 10-30 |
| Michigan | Lesser of 43% of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 14-26 |
| Minnesota | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 9-26 |
| Mississippi | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 13-26 |
| Missouri | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 20 x WBA | 8-20 |
| Nebraska | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 10-26 |
| Nevada | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 8-26 |
| New Hampshire | Uniform duration of 26 weeks | 26 |
| New Mexico | Lesser of 60% of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 14-26 |
| New York | Uniform duration of 26 weeks | 26 |
| Oklahoma | 16 x WBA | 16 |
| Oregon | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 1-26 |
| Puerto Rico | Uniform duration of 26 weeks | 26 |
| Rhode Island | Lesser of 33% of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 17-26 |
| South Carolina | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 20 x WBA | 13-20 |
| South Dakota | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 15-26 |
| Texas | Lesser of 27% of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 10-26 |
| Utah | 27% of base-period wages | 10-26 |
| Vermont | Lesser of 46% of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 23-26 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 16 x WBA | 13-16 |
| Washington | Lesser of 1/3 of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 1-26 |
| West Virginia | Uniform duration of 26 weeks | 26 |
| Wisconsin | Lesser of 40% of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 14-26 |
| Wyoming | Lesser of 30% of base-period wages or 26 x WBA | 11-26 |
Sources and as-of date. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, effective July 2026 (columns Calculation of Maximum Benefit Amount and Benefit Weeks Payable), listed on the DOL state UI laws page, retrieved October 2026. DOL states the summary is informational and not an official interpretation of state law.
Frequently asked questions
How long can I collect unemployment?
Most states pay up to 26 weeks. The Department of Labor July 2026 summary shows shorter maximums in some states, including a maximum of 12 weeks in Florida and Arkansas, 14 in Alabama, 16 in Oklahoma and Iowa, 12 to 20 in North Carolina, and up to 30 in Massachusetts. Many states vary the weeks with their unemployment rate or your wages.
How is the maximum unemployment benefit calculated?
In most states it is the lesser of a fraction of your base-period wages (often one third) or a set number of weeks, usually 26, times your weekly benefit. Whichever is smaller is the most you can collect in the benefit year.
Why would I collect fewer than 26 weeks?
Either your wages are low relative to your weekly amount, so the wage share runs out first, or your state pays fewer weeks. For example, with a $400 weekly benefit and $20,000 in base-period wages, Texas allows 27% of wages ($5,400), which is 13.5 weeks.
Does this include extended benefits?
No. DOL says its summary excludes extended benefits and special programs. Extra weeks can be available in limited circumstances such as high state unemployment or approved training; ask your agency.
Where do I find my base-period wages?
Your state determination letter usually lists them, and many state portals show wages by quarter. The base-period calculator on this site shows which quarters count.
Why is my state missing?
For the states left out, DOL describes the maximum benefit with a weighted schedule or credit weeks, or the printed total-benefit rule conflicts with the printed weeks range. Showing a number there could mislead you, so the page links to the DOL source instead.