Workers' Compensation Calculator

The Workers' Compensation Calculator estimates the benefits an injured worker may receive after a workplace injury. It starts from your average weekly wage (AWW), applies your state's wage-replacement rate (usually two-thirds), enforces the statutory minimum and maximum weekly caps, and then projects the payout for the type of disability you select — temporary total (TTD), permanent partial (PPD), or permanent total (PTD). An interactive body diagram and a wage-cap visualizer make it easy to see exactly how the number is built.

How Workers' Compensation Benefits Are Calculated

Almost every U.S. state ties cash benefits to a simple core formula. You take your average weekly wage, multiply by a replacement rate, and then clamp the result between a legal floor and ceiling that the state updates each year.

What Is the Average Weekly Wage (AWW)?

The average weekly wage is the foundation of every workers' compensation benefit. It is normally your gross earnings averaged over a defined period before the injury — most commonly the 52 weeks immediately prior. Depending on the state it can include overtime, bonuses, tips, and the value of certain fringe benefits such as employer-paid lodging. Because the entire benefit is a percentage of the AWW, an accurate wage figure is the single most important input.

Types of Disability Benefits

Scheduled Loss: Weeks by Body Part

For permanent partial disability, states publish a schedule of injuries that assigns a set number of weeks to the total loss of each body part. Your award is the comp rate multiplied by these weeks and by your impairment percentage. The values below are representative — your state's schedule may differ.

Why Higher Earners Get Capped

Every state sets a maximum weekly benefit, usually pegged to the statewide average weekly wage (SAWW). If two-thirds of your wage is greater than that cap, your benefit is limited to the maximum. This is why a worker earning $4,000 a week may receive the same weekly check as one earning $2,500 — both hit the ceiling. At the other end, a statutory minimum protects very low earners, although it can never exceed your actual wage. The wage-cap visualizer in the results makes this clamping easy to see at a glance.

Example Calculation

Suppose a worker in a two-thirds state earns an average weekly wage of $1,200, the state maximum is $1,200, and they are off work for 12 weeks with a temporary total disability:

• Comp rate: $1,200 × 0.6667 = $800.04 per week (below the cap, so no adjustment).
• Total TTD benefit: $800.04 × 12 weeks = $9,600.48.

If the same worker instead suffered a 50% permanent impairment of a hand (scheduled at 244 weeks): $800.04 × 244 × 0.50 = $97,604.88 as a permanent partial award.

What Affects Your Benefit Amount

How to Use This Calculator

1. Select your state and enter your average weekly wage: Use your gross pay averaged over the period before your injury.
2. Choose your disability type: Temporary total, permanent partial, or permanent total.
3. Add the injury details: Enter weeks off work for a temporary claim, or click the body diagram and set an impairment rating for a permanent partial claim.
4. Review your estimate: See your weekly rate, how the state cap applies, your total benefit, and the full step-by-step math.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the workers' compensation weekly rate calculated?

In most states the weekly benefit is two-thirds (about 66.67%) of your average weekly wage. A few states use 70%. The result is then limited to a statutory maximum and minimum that each state sets and updates every year, so high earners are capped and very low earners are raised to the floor.

What is the average weekly wage (AWW)?

The average weekly wage is your gross earnings averaged over a set period before the injury, usually the 52 weeks prior. It generally includes overtime, bonuses, and the value of some benefits. The AWW is the single most important figure because every benefit is a percentage of it.

What is the difference between TTD, PPD, and PTD?

Temporary Total Disability (TTD) pays while you cannot work at all but are expected to recover. Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) pays a scheduled award for the lasting loss of use of a body part. Permanent Total Disability (PTD) pays ongoing benefits when an injury permanently prevents you from returning to any work.

How are scheduled body-part awards calculated?

Each state publishes a schedule that assigns a number of weeks to the total loss of each body part, such as an arm, hand, leg, or eye. Your award equals your weekly compensation rate multiplied by the scheduled weeks, multiplied by your impairment percentage. A 50% impairment of a part scheduled at 200 weeks pays 100 weeks of benefits.

Why is my benefit capped below two-thirds of my wage?

Every state sets a maximum weekly benefit tied to the statewide average weekly wage. If two-thirds of your wage is higher than that maximum, your benefit is capped at the maximum. This is why higher earners receive a smaller percentage of their actual wages than lower earners.

Are workers' compensation benefits taxable?

In general, workers' compensation benefits paid for a work-related injury or illness are not subject to federal income tax. There can be exceptions, such as when benefits interact with Social Security Disability. This tool estimates gross benefits and does not account for any tax or offset; consult a tax professional for your situation.

Is this workers' compensation estimate legally accurate?

No. This calculator gives a good-faith estimate using common rules and approximate recent state caps. Actual benefits depend on your exact date of injury, the controlling average weekly wage tables, offsets, and your state's current schedule. Always confirm figures with your state workers' compensation board or a qualified attorney.

Additional Resources

• Workers' Compensation - Wikipedia
• Workers' Compensation - U.S. Department of Labor