How much does workers' comp pay?

Two thirds of your wage is the headline. Your state's weekly cap is the actual answer — and above a certain wage, every extra dollar you earned counts for nothing.

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Your wage and your state

Gross, before tax. Usually a 13- or 52-week average — not just last week.

Only states whose current figures are verified from the agency itself are listed.

 

Two-thirds of your wage—
State weekly maximum—
What you actually receive each week—
Real wage replacement rate—
Unpaid waiting period—
Total over 8 weeks—
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    The cap is the number that decides your cheque

    Almost every explanation of workers' compensation starts and ends with "two thirds of your wages." That is true, and it is also the least useful part of the sentence. Missouri's own wording carries the qualifier that matters: temporary total disability pays "66 2/3% of the injured worker's average weekly wage, not to exceed a maximum amount set by the law." The maximum is where the real arithmetic happens.

    In Missouri that maximum is 105 percent of the state average weekly wage, which works out to $1,294.71 a week for injuries from 1 July 2026. Two thirds of a wage hits $1,294.71 at an average weekly wage of about $1,942 — roughly $101,000 a year. Below that line you are genuinely replaced at 67 percent. Above it you are not: a worker earning $3,000 a week is replaced at about 43 percent, and a worker on $4,000 a week at about 32 percent. Nothing in the two-thirds rule tells them that, and it is the single most common reason a first payment feels wrong.

    The caps move every year and they are not the same everywhere. California's temporary disability maximum for 2026 is $1,764.11 a week, up from $1,680.29, and it also carries a minimum of $264.61 — a floor Missouri's temporary total schedule does not have. Both figures are indexed: California's rose 4.98826 percent because the state average weekly wage rose from $1,704 to $1,789 in the year to March 2025. The number that governs your claim is the one in force on your date of injury, not today's, so a 2024 injury settled in 2026 is still paid at the 2024 cap.

    Two thirds of gross is more than it sounds

    The replacement rate looks harsher than it is, because the comparison is unfair. Your wage was taxed; the benefit is not. IRS Publication 525 states that "amounts you receive as workers' compensation for an occupational sickness or injury are not included in your income," with a narrow exception where state law treats part of the payment as a pension based on years of service.

    So two thirds of gross often lands close to 80 or 85 percent of what you were actually taking home, for a worker below the cap. That does not make the shortfall painless, but it does change the calculation on whether to return to light duty early, and it changes what a settlement is worth relative to wages. Compare the benefit against your net pay, not your gross.

    The first days you miss

    Nearly every state has a waiting period, and most make it retroactive if you are off long enough. Missouri does not pay "for the first three business days or less of disability," but adds that "if you are unable to work for more than 14 days the 'three-day waiting period' will be paid." Both numbers — the wait and the threshold that claws it back — are set by state law and vary widely.

    The practical consequence is a cliff. Being off thirteen days and being off fifteen days are not two days apart in money; the second one also returns three days of benefits the first one forfeits. If your return-to-work date is being negotiated near that line, it is worth knowing the line is there.

    Permanent partial disability is a different, cheaper schedule

    Once you reach maximum medical improvement, wage replacement usually stops and a rating takes over. Permanent partial disability is paid as a schedule: a fixed number of weeks per body part, multiplied by your weekly rate and by the percentage of disability the rating assigns. Missouri's schedule turns on where the loss occurred, not just which limb: an arm is 232 weeks at the shoulder, 222 between shoulder and elbow, 210 at the elbow and 200 between elbow and wrist. A hand at the wrist is 175. A leg is 207 at the hip, 160 at or above the knee and 155 below the knee. A foot is 150 in the tarsus and 110 in the metatarsus. One eye is 140. Where the member is totally lost by severance or complete loss of use, the weeks increase by ten percent.

    The trap is the second cap. Missouri limits permanent partial disability to 55 percent of the state average weekly wage — $678.18 — against 105 percent for temporary total. That is roughly half. A worker who has been receiving $1,294.71 a week can see the rate fall to $678.18 the moment the claim moves from temporary to permanent, with no change in their injury and no error by anyone. Knowing which cap you are being paid under is the first question to ask about any number you are quoted.

    A rating is also a judgment, not a measurement. Two physicians can assess the same shoulder differently, and the percentage is what multiplies through the whole calculation. If a settlement is built on a rating you have not seen explained, ask for it in writing before agreeing to anything.

    If the number looks wrong

    Start with your average weekly wage, because everything else is a multiple of it. It is usually an average over a defined period before the injury, and it is frequently understated — overtime, second jobs, shift differentials and bonuses are treated differently from state to state, and a period containing unpaid leave or seasonal downtime will drag it below what you normally earn. Ask the adjuster in writing which weeks were used and what was included.

    Then check which cap was applied and which year's version. Then check whether the waiting period was withheld and whether you have since passed the retroactive threshold. Those three questions account for most disputes that turn out to be arithmetic rather than disagreement.

    If it is not arithmetic, every state has an administrative route — a dispute resolution or hearing process through the workers' compensation agency itself — that does not require you to hire anyone to start it. Your state's agency publishes the current maximums, the waiting period and the disability schedule; those are the documents that decide your claim, not any calculator, including this one.

    Frequently asked questions

    How much does workers comp pay per week?

    In most states the wage-replacement rate for temporary total disability is two thirds of your average weekly wage, and Missouri states it as 66 2/3% of the injured worker's average weekly wage, not to exceed a maximum amount set by the law. That maximum is the part people miss. Missouri caps temporary total disability at 105% of the state average weekly wage, which is $1,294.71 a week from 1 July 2026. California's 2026 temporary disability maximum is $1,764.11 a week and its minimum is $264.61.

    Why is my workers comp cheque less than two thirds of my wage?

    Almost always because you have hit the state weekly maximum. The two thirds figure only applies until your benefit reaches the cap; past that point every extra dollar you earned adds nothing. In Missouri the cap binds at an average weekly wage of about $1,942, so a worker earning $3,000 a week is replaced at roughly 43%, not 67%. The other common reason is that your average weekly wage was calculated from a period that understates your normal earnings.

    Is workers compensation taxable?

    Generally no. IRS Publication 525 states that amounts you receive as workers' compensation for an occupational sickness or injury are not included in your income. There is a narrow exception where state law treats part of the payment as a pension or annuity based on years of service. Because the benefit is untaxed, two thirds of gross wages usually replaces a noticeably larger share of your take-home pay than the headline percentage suggests.

    Do I get paid for the first few days I miss?

    Not at first, and in many states not at all unless you are off long enough. Missouri does not pay compensation for the first three business days or less of disability, but if you are unable to work for more than 14 days that three-day waiting period is then paid. The length of the waiting period and the retroactive threshold are both set by state law, so check yours before assuming the first week is lost.

    How is a permanent partial disability settlement calculated?

    By a schedule of weeks per body part, multiplied by your weekly rate and by the percentage of disability assigned. Missouri's schedule is level-specific rather than one figure per limb: an arm is 232 weeks at the shoulder, 210 at the elbow and 200 between elbow and wrist; a hand at the wrist is 175; a leg is 207 at the hip but 160 at or above the knee; a foot is 150 in the tarsus and 110 in the metatarsus; one eye is 140. Where the member is totally lost by severance or complete loss of use, the scheduled weeks increase by ten percent. Note that permanent partial disability usually carries a lower weekly cap than temporary total disability: in Missouri it is 55% of the state average weekly wage rather than 105%.

    Sources & further reading

    Every figure above comes from the agency that sets it. Last reviewed: September 2026.