Minnesota Unemployment Calculator 2026
Minnesota pays $0–$948 per week for up to 26 weeks in 2026. Your weekly benefit amount is 50% of your average weekly wage. Enter your quarterly wages below to estimate it — the math runs entirely in your browser, from figures verified against Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program (Dept. of Employment and Economic Development).
Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works
Enter your gross wages for each quarter of the base period — roughly the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. Your state's exact window is shown with the result.
Base period: Most recent four completed calendar quarters before the effective date of the application (handbook: benefits are based on gross wages 'during a recent 52-week period ... called your base period'). (an alternate base period is available if you don’t qualify with the standard one).
File your claim with Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program (Dept. of Employment and Economic Development) — only the agency determines your actual benefit.
Verified 2026-07-31 against Minnesota UI Information Handbook - After you apply (ui.mn.gov) (effective 2026-01-01)
Estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Only Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program (Dept. of Employment and Economic Development) can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program (Dept. of Employment and Economic Development) — file a claim ↗
Working part-time? Partial benefits
Minnesota disregards part of what you earn in a week before reducing your benefit. Estimate what a part-time week leaves you with:
- Disregard: 50% of earnings $150.00 = $75.00
- Countable earnings: $150.00 − $75.00 = $75.00
- Payable: WBA $400.00 − $75.00 = $325.00
How long benefits can last
Up to 26 weeks; total benefits are Minn. Stat. 268.07: the maximum amount of benefits available is the LOWER of '33-1/3 percent of the applicant's total wage credits; or 26 times the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount.'
Who qualifies for benefits in Minnesota
Minn. Stat. 268.07: to establish a benefit account 'an applicant must have wage credits of at least 5.3 percent of the state's average annual wage rounded down to the next lower $100'.
Meeting the wage test is not the same as being approved: Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program (Dept. of Employment and Economic Development) also rules on the reason for the separation and on your availability for work each week. File with Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program (Dept. of Employment and Economic Development) ↗
Base period in Minnesota
Most recent four completed calendar quarters before the effective date of the application (handbook: benefits are based on gross wages 'during a recent 52-week period ... called your base period').. An alternate base period is available if you don’t qualify with the standard window. Minn. Stat. 268.035 subd. 4: if the application is effective in the month following the most recent completed quarter, the base period is the first four of the most recent five completed quarters; the period giving more wage credits must be used; extended base periods are available after periods on workers' compensation or similar wage-replacement.
See which quarters count for your filing date →Severance and your claim
Minn. Stat. 268.085 subd. 3b: 'An applicant is not eligible to receive unemployment benefits for any week the applicant is receiving, has received, or will receive separation pay, severance pay, bonus pay, or any other payments paid by an employer because of, upon, or after separation from employment'; the payment is applied from the separation date and allocated at the applicant's last level of regular weekly pay. Handbook lists severance among 'income that may affect benefits'.
Source: Minnesota UI Information Handbook - After you apply (ui.mn.gov) (verified 2026-07-31).
Minnesota unemployment: frequently asked questions
Minnesota pays between $0 and $948 per week in 2026. Your amount is 50% of your average weekly wage, and only Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program (Dept. of Employment and Economic Development) can determine it officially. These figures were verified against the agency's own publication on 2026-07-31.
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