Paid Family Leave by State, 2026
13 programs (12 states and D.C.) ranked by maximum weekly benefit. For each, the wage replacement rule, the weekly cap, and the maximum weeks of leave to bond with a new child.
By Frank Sterling (pen name of LifeCalc’s founder; not a licensed financial advisor). Caps and weeks checked against state agency pages 2026-10-12. Download CSV.
What the table shows
- The highest weekly cap is California at $1,765 and the lowest is Delaware at $900, a spread of $865 per week (1.96 times).
- 11 of 13 programs allow up to 12 weeks; the shortest is California (8 weeks), Rhode Island (8 weeks).
- Counting the cap times the maximum weeks, Oregon has the largest ceiling ($20,304) and Rhode Island the smallest ($9,200).
- 38 states have no state paid family leave program in this dataset.
Every figure here is computed from the table below.
All programs, ranked by maximum weekly benefit
| Rank | State | Wage replacement rule | Max weekly | Max weeks (bonding) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 60% to 70% of weekly wages (sliding scale based on base period earnings) | $1,765 | 8 |
| 2 | Oregon | 100% of wages up to 65% of state average weekly wage; 50% on remainder | $1,692 | 12 |
| 3 | Washington | Up to 90% of wages on lower tier; progressive sliding scale up to cap | $1,647 | 12 |
| 4 | Colorado | Up to 90% for wages up to 50% of the state average weekly wage; 50% for wages above | $1,448 | 12 |
| 5 | Minnesota | 90% up to 50% state average weekly wage; 66% on middle tier; 55% on remainderNote: Cap taken from insurer and employer summaries; we could not confirm it on the agency site, and it may have reset on October 1, 2026. | $1,423 | 12 |
| 6 | Maine | 90% of wages up to 50% of state average weekly wage; 66% on remainder | $1,249 | 12 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 80% of wages up to 50% of state average weekly wage; 50% on remainder | $1,230 | 12 |
| 8 | New York | 67% of average weekly wage, capped at 67% of the Statewide Average Weekly Wage | $1,228 | 12 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | Approximately 60% of average weekly wage plus dependency allowances | $1,150 | 8 |
| 10 | New Jersey | 85% of average weekly wage up to the state statutory cap | $1,119 | 12 |
| 11 | District of Columbia | 90% of wages up to 40x DC minimum wage; 50% on remainderNote: Cap is for claims filed on or after October 1, 2026 ($1,190 before). The 12 weeks is parental leave; family caregiving leave is 6 weeks for those claims. | $1,100 | 12 |
| 12 | Connecticut | 95% of wages up to 40x state minimum wage; 60% on remainder | $1,016 | 12 |
| 13 | Delaware | 80% of average weekly wageNote: The 12 weeks is parental leave; family caregiving leave is 6 weeks in any 24 months. | $900 | 12 |
The table lists each program’s published rule, weekly cap and maximum weeks. It does not estimate a benefit for a given salary: most programs pay on a sliding scale tied to the state average weekly wage, so one flat rate would misstate what people receive. For a rough figure at your own salary use the paid family leave calculator, and confirm with the state agency before relying on any number. Waiting periods, eligibility tests and taxes are not covered. Caps reset on different dates by state (January, July or October), so check the date on this page.
States with no program in this dataset
38 states do not have a statewide paid family leave program in our data: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. Workers there may still have employer plans, short-term disability, or federal unpaid FMLA leave (12 weeks, job-protected, no wage replacement). Some of these states may have enacted programs that have not started paying benefits; we only list programs we have verified.
Embed this
The numbers above come from the same code as our calculators. You can run the paid family leave calculator for a specific salary or situation, and the free calculators on the embed page can be added to your own site with a snippet.
How to cite
Free to cite and republish with a link to this dataset page. Please do not link only to the CSV.
Frank Sterling, LifeCalc (published by Honey Badger Labs LLC). “Paid Family Leave by State, 2026.” Data verified 2026-09-01. https://lifecalc.co/data/paid-family-leave-by-state-2026
Download the CSV · Corrections and questions: hello@lifecalc.co