Methodology

For each state we record the weekly benefit rate, the maximum and minimum weekly benefit for 2026, the waiting period, how permanent partial disability is paid, the body-part schedule and the rule for injuries off the schedule (back, neck and other body-as-a-whole injuries), with the statute and the source URL.

Sources

We use state workers' compensation agencies, rate notices and statutes first. When an official page could not be reached we used a secondary source (for example the Social Security Administration's state benefit tables or published rate summaries) and mark the page "Includes secondary sources".

Calculations

Scheduled awards are estimated as scheduled weeks × loss-of-use rating × weekly rate, using each state's percentage, maximum and minimum. Whole-person awards use the state's base weeks (for example 500 weeks in Illinois or 450 in Tennessee). States with special rules (Pennsylvania's wage bands, Arizona's monthly wage cap, Indiana's dollars per degree, Massachusetts' lump-sum multipliers, Idaho's flat rate, Florida's weeks per point, Alaska's lump sum, Vermont's spine scale) are calculated with those rules. Where the law does not settle how an injury is rated, or we could not confirm a current rate, we explain the rule and show no dollar figure.

Updates

Maximums change every year, in January, July or October depending on the state. Figures were last checked September 30, 2026.

What is verified and what is not

Pages distinguish statutory benefits from negotiated settlements. Calculators use the displayed formulas and periods, not an observed dataset of actual settlements. We do not publish settlement averages without a verified dataset. The site does not determine a medical rating or replace an individual legal review.

How to read dates

A page review date and a rate's effective period are different facts. Historical rates are retained with their period and require an applicability check before calculation. New California and Minnesota modules identify their own sources and limits. Updating this version does not mean every state law has been revalidated.

How answers are organized

When injury variants repeat a rule without adding their own permanent-benefit calculation, the information is brought together in the state guide. Comparison links lead to the corresponding injury section. The criterion is usefulness and accuracy of assumptions, not reaching a word-count target.