Maternity Pay Calculator
Estimate how much you will actually be paid during maternity leave — blending your employer’s policy, your state’s paid family leave benefit, and any PTO you plan to use — plus how many weeks, if any, would be unpaid.
Medically & financially reviewed by Charlotte Rose, RN · Reviewed for accuracy: July 2026 · State benefit figures current as of the 2026 program year
Your leave details
Average weekly wage is your typical gross pay before taxes. If you are paid biweekly or monthly, divide by 2 or by 4.33 to get a weekly figure.
Your pay estimate
Enter your wage, leave length, and any employer or PTO weeks, then tap “Calculate my maternity pay.”
How maternity pay actually works in the U.S.
Unlike many countries, the United States has no federal paid maternity leave program. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for eligible employees, but that leave is unpaid by default — FMLA replaces zero dollars of your paycheck on its own. Whatever income you actually receive during maternity leave comes from stacking together up to three separate sources: an employer’s own paid parental leave or short-term disability policy, a state paid family leave (PFL) program if your state runs one, and any personal PTO or sick leave you choose to spend down. This maternity pay calculator walks through all three and totals up your real, week-by-week take-home estimate.
Quick answer
Enter your average weekly wage, how many weeks of leave you are planning, and whatever employer-paid or PTO weeks you have. The calculator applies your employer weeks first, then fills remaining weeks with your state paid family leave benefit (using your selected state’s 2026 wage-replacement rate and cap), then any PTO you choose to use, and shows whatever is left over as unpaid.
Am I eligible for job-protected leave at all?
Before pay, the more basic question is whether your leave is protected. Under federal FMLA rules, you are eligible if you have worked for your employer at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months, and your employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your worksite. If you do not meet those three conditions, FMLA does not apply to you — though your state may have its own, sometimes more generous, job-protection rules that kick in at a lower employee threshold.
Paid family leave by state: 2026 rates at a glance
This is where the real dollar amount comes from for most working parents. Below are the wage-replacement rates, weekly caps, and typical bonding-leave length for the state programs built into this calculator.
| State | Program | Wage replacement | 2026 weekly cap | Bonding leave length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | SDI + PFL | 70–90% (tiered by income) | $1,765 | 8 weeks PFL + disability leave |
| New York | PFL | 67% | $1,228.53 | 12 weeks |
| New Jersey | FLI | 85% | $1,119 | 12 weeks |
| Massachusetts | PFML | Up to 80% (tiered) | $1,230.39 | 12 weeks |
| Washington | PFML | Up to 90% (tiered) | $1,647 | 12 weeks (16 combined) |
| Colorado | FAMLI | Up to 90% (tiered) | ~$1,324 | 12 weeks (16 for complications) |
| Oregon | Paid Leave Oregon | Up to 100% (tiered) | $1,636.56 | 12 weeks (14 for childbirth) |
| Rhode Island | TCI | ~60% | $1,103 | 8 weeks (2026) |
| Connecticut | CT Paid Leave | 95% then 60% (tiered) | $1,016.40 | 12 weeks |
Every other state currently relies on FMLA’s unpaid protection plus whatever an employer voluntarily offers. Several more states — including Delaware, Maryland, and Minnesota — have new or expanding programs phasing in around 2026, so it is worth checking your state labor department’s site even if you do not see it listed above.
How the tiered state formulas work
Several of the more generous programs — Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, and Oregon — pay a higher percentage on the first portion of your wages and a lower percentage above that, so lower earners see a bigger share of their paycheck replaced than higher earners do. California uses a simpler two-tier system: workers earning under roughly $1,252 a week receive 90% wage replacement, while higher earners receive 70%, both subject to the state’s weekly cap. Connecticut works similarly, paying 95% of wages up to 40 times the state minimum wage and 60% above that line. This calculator applies each state’s real cap and a representative wage-replacement rate for your situation; for the exact cent-by-cent figure, your state’s official calculator (linked in the references below) will always be the final word.
A worked example
Say you earn $1,400 a week in New Jersey and plan 12 weeks of leave: 2 weeks fully paid by your employer, then New Jersey’s FLI program for the remaining 10 weeks. FLI pays 85% of $1,400 — $1,190 a week — but New Jersey’s 2026 cap is $1,119, so that is what you would actually receive. Your total for the 12 weeks would be 2 × $1,400 (employer) + 10 × $1,119 (FLI) = $2,800 + $11,190 = $13,990, an effective wage replacement of about 83% across the full leave.
Related maternal health calculators
This tool is part of the Maternal Health Calculators hub. These companion tools cover cycle tracking, ultrasound dating, and maternity planning — each answers a different question, so pick whichever fits where you are.
Frequently asked questions
It depends entirely on where you live and work. Federal FMLA leave is unpaid. Whether you receive any income during leave depends on whether your state runs a paid family leave program and whether your employer offers its own paid parental leave or short-term disability policy on top of that.
Most state programs replace somewhere between 60% and 90% of your average weekly wage, up to a capped maximum benefit that resets each year. Lower earners typically see a higher percentage of their wages replaced than higher earners, whose benefit is more likely to be limited by the weekly cap.
Often, yes. Many employers “top up” the state benefit so employees still receive close to 100% of their normal pay during the weeks covered by the state program, while others offer a separate block of fully paid leave that runs before or after the state benefit. Check your employee handbook or HR team for how your company structures it.
You would rely on FMLA’s unpaid job protection (if you qualify) plus whatever your employer voluntarily provides — company-paid parental leave, short-term disability insurance, or accrued PTO and sick time. Some employers in non-PFL states still offer generous paid leave as a benefit, so it is worth checking your specific policy rather than assuming there is nothing available.
In many states, yes — pregnancy and childbirth recovery are typically treated as a temporary disability for the weeks immediately around delivery (commonly six weeks for a vaginal delivery, eight for a cesarean), separate from bonding leave afterward. California’s SDI program and New Jersey’s TDI program both work this way, paying disability benefits before family leave benefits begin.
There is no single standard. Most state paid family leave programs cap bonding benefits at 8 to 12 weeks, and FMLA job protection tops out at 12 weeks federally. Many parents combine a period of paid disability recovery with bonding leave and PTO to stretch total time away from work to 12 to 16 weeks or more.
Generally yes, at the federal level — most state PFL benefits are considered taxable income, similar to unemployment benefits, though the exact treatment can vary by state and whether taxes were withheld from your benefit payments. A tax professional can confirm how your specific state’s benefit is reported.
Most state programs base eligibility on wages earned and time worked rather than full-time status, so many part-time workers do qualify for at least a partial benefit. FMLA’s unpaid job protection, however, has stricter hour requirements (1,250 hours in the past 12 months) that some part-time schedules may not meet.
Each state has its own method, usually based on a “base period” of past earnings — often your highest-earning quarter or an average across several recent quarters — rather than your most recent paycheck. This calculator asks for a simple average weekly wage as a close estimate; your state’s official benefit letter will show the exact figure used for your claim.
In several states with paid family leave, self-employed people can opt in to the program voluntarily (California’s Disability Elective Coverage program is one example), usually by paying into it ahead of time. Outside of those opt-in programs, self-employed parents typically rely on personal savings, private disability insurance, or business income planning instead.
Methodology
This calculator fills your planned leave weeks in order: employer-paid weeks first (at the percentage of pay you specify), then state paid family leave weeks up to your selected state’s maximum bonding duration, then any PTO or sick weeks you specify at full pay, with any remaining weeks shown as unpaid. State benefit amounts are calculated using each program’s 2026 wage-replacement rate and weekly maximum benefit; California and Connecticut use their published two-tier formulas based on your entered wage, while other states apply a representative single wage-replacement rate capped at the state’s published 2026 maximum, since several programs use multi-tier formulas that require base-period wage data this tool does not collect. If you enable the employer top-up option, state benefit weeks are shown at 100% of your average weekly wage instead of the state formula amount. All figures are educational estimates only, not a benefit determination, and state rates and caps adjust periodically — always confirm your exact benefit with your state’s paid leave agency or your HR department.
Charlotte Rose, RN
A professional nurse turned SEO strategist and web designer with 10+ years of experience in the online health field. Charlotte reviewed this calculator’s state benefit figures and educational content for accuracy and clarity.
References & trusted sources
- U.S. Department of Labor — Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- California EDD — Calculating PFL Benefit Payment Amounts
- New York State Paid Family Leave
- Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave
- Bipartisan Policy Center — State Paid Family Leave Laws Across the U.S.
This calculator provides educational estimates based on the information you enter and general 2026 program figures. It is not a benefit determination, tax advice, or legal advice, and does not account for every state’s exact multi-tier formula, base-period rules, or eligibility requirements. State wage-replacement rates and weekly caps change periodically. Please confirm your exact benefit amount with your state’s paid family leave agency, your HR or benefits team, or a qualified professional. Last reviewed & updated: July 2026.