Could you live on less than $300 a week? The average unemployment check in the U.S. is $293.
Below you'll find a state-by-state list of maximum weekly benefits. The amounts vary dramatically, though, from a maximum of $230 in Mississippi to $628 in Massachusetts. But some relatively high-income states pay very little.
The just-passed economic stimulus law provides an additional $25 a week on top of the current benefits. That extra money isn't reflected below.
Amounts in the chart are generally for a single unemployed person. Because some states increase payments for families with children, those maximum benefit amounts may be higher.
Don't forget that benefits are taxable, and taxes typically are not withheld automatically. The stimulus law exempts the first $2,400 of jobless pay from federal taxes.
That law also reimburses 65% of the cost of COBRA health insurance payments for the first nine months of unemployment. That's a huge benefit for those with children because the full cost of a family-of-four policy can be more than $12,000 a year.
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Benefits can be paid for a maximum of 26 weeks in most states. A series of federal programs has extended coverage an additional 20 weeks in all states as well. In 33 states with persistent high unemployment -- over 6% for three months -- benefits have been extended 13 more weeks.
About 38% of those currently unemployed are receiving benefits. The remainder have exhausted their benefits already or never qualified in the first place because they were self-employed, fired for cause or worked only part time.
| State | Maximum | State | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | $255 | Montana | $407 |
Alaska | $370 | Nebraska | $308 |
Arizona | $240 | Nevada | $362 |
Arkansas | $409 | New Hampshire | $427 |
California | $450 | New Jersey | $584 |
Colorado | $475 | New Mexico | $455 |
Connecticut | $519 | New York | $405 |
Delaware | $330 | North Carolina | $494 |
District of Columbia | $359 | North Dakota | $385 |
Florida | $275 | Ohio | $372 |
Georgia | $330 | Oklahoma | $392 |
Hawaii | $545 | Oregon | $482 |
Idaho | $362 | Pennsylvania | $539 |
Illinois | $385 | Rhode Island | $528 |
Indiana | $390 | South Carolina | $326 |
Iowa | $443 | South Dakota | $285 |
Kansas | $423 | Tennessee | $275 |
Kentucky | $415 | Texas | $378 |
Louisiana | $284 | Utah | $444 |
Maine | $496 | Vermont | $409 |
Maryland | $380 | Virginia | $378 |
Massachusetts | $628 | Washington | $541* |
Michigan | $365 | West Virginia | $424 |
Minnesota | $566 | Wisconsin | $363 |
Mississippi | $230 | Wyoming | $387 |
Missouri | $320 |
*State has OK'd a temporary $45 increase beginning May 3. Sources: The Associated Press, state labor department Web sites.
Published Feb. 23, 2009
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