Ohio Unemployment Calculator — How Much Will I Get?

The Formula Ohio Uses

Ohio calculates your Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA) in three steps:

1. Add up your total base period wages from qualifying weeks only.
2. Divide by the number of qualifying weeks to get your Average Weekly Wage (AWW).
3. Take 50% of your AWW, rounded down to the next whole dollar.

That number is then capped at the maximum for your dependency class.

A qualifying week is a calendar week during your base period with wages in covered employment. Certain allocated payments, including separation or termination pay, vacation pay, and holiday pay, can also count as remuneration for qualifying-week purposes. There's no separate minimum dollar amount per week. Across all qualifying weeks, your AWW must reach at least $352 (the 2026 threshold), and you need at least 20 qualifying weeks to establish a valid claim.

2026 Weekly Maximums by Dependency Class

Ohio adjusts these caps every year based on the statewide average weekly wage:

If your calculated 50% figure exceeds the cap for your class, you receive the cap amount.

How Dependents Work

Claiming a dependent spouse requires that you're legally married, provided more than 50% of the spouse's support for at least 90 consecutive days (or the duration of the marriage if shorter), live in the same household, and your spouse's gross income doesn't exceed 25% of your base period AWW.

Claiming a child requires that the child is under 18 (or permanently disabled), is your natural, step, or legally adopted child, and you provided 50% of their support. Federal tax dependency alone doesn't automatically establish ODJFS eligibility, and only one parent can claim a child if both file.

Worked Example

Say you worked 40 qualifying weeks and earned $32,000 total during your base period. No dependents.

• AWW = $32,000 ÷ 40 = $800
• 50% of $800 = $400
• Class A cap is $624, so your WBA is $400/week (below the cap)

Now imagine the same scenario but with three qualifying dependents:

• Calculated WBA is still $400
• Class C cap is $842
• Your WBA is still $400/week — the dependency class raises the ceiling, but it doesn't inflate your actual benefit beyond 50% of your AWW

The difference only shows up at higher earnings. If your AWW were $1,600, the calculated WBA would be $800 — capped at $624 for Class A or $757 for Class B.

How Long Benefits Last

Ohio pays one week of benefits for each qualifying week you worked, up to a maximum of 26 weeks per benefit year. If you worked exactly 20 qualifying weeks, you get 20 payable weeks. Work 26 or more qualifying weeks, and you hit the 26-week cap.

The Base Period — Where Your Wages Come From

The standard base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your benefit year starts. If you don't have enough wages or qualifying weeks there, Ohio checks the alternate base period — the four most recently completed quarters.

If the monetary determination shows missing wages from a base period employer, you can submit W-2s or pay stubs to ODJFS for correction during your benefit year.

Do the Math Before You File

Our Ohio Unemployment Claim Guide includes a benefit calculation worksheet where you plug in your own wages, count your qualifying weeks, and find your dependency class — so you know the numbers before you even open the application.

See more Ohio guides →