# Washington — Unemployment insurance: maximum weekly benefit and weeks of duration by US state

For Washington, maximum weekly benefit is $1,208; duration rule is Find this by taking the smaller of either: 26 times your weekly benefit amount. 1/3 of the total gross (before tax) wages in all 4 quarters of your base year; benefit calculation is We combine your gross wages from the 2 quarters in your base year when you earned the most. Then we divide by 2. We multiply this number by 0.0385, verified against its source on 2026-08-18.

- **State:** Washington _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Maximum weekly benefit:** $1,208 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Duration rule:** Find this by taking the smaller of either: 26 times your weekly benefit amount. 1/3 of the total gross (before tax) wages in all 4 quarters of your base year. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Benefit calculation:** We combine your gross wages from the 2 quarters in your base year when you earned the most. Then we divide by 2. We multiply this number by 0.0385. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> Once you know your weekly benefit amount, you can estimate the total amount of benefits we might pay you on your claim. Find this by taking the smaller of either: 26 times your weekly benefit amount. 1/3 of the total gross (before tax) wages in all 4 quarters of your base year. How we calculate your weekly benefit amount We use this formula when we calculate your weekly benefit amount. The formula is not based on financial need. We combine your gross wages from the 2 quarters in your base year when you earned the most. Then we divide by 2. We multiply this number by 0.0385. If the number is: More than Washington's official maximum weekly benefit amount of $1,208, you will get $1,208.

## Source

- https://esd.wa.gov/unemployment/calculate-your-benefit

Last verified: 2026-08-18. Review by: 2027-02-14.
Part of [Unemployment insurance: maximum weekly benefit and weeks of duration by US state](https://referencesource.org/ui-weekly-benefit-and-duration-by-state/).