Paid family leave in 2026: every state program and calculator
No federal law pays you while you bond with a new child or care for a sick relative. A group of states does, each with its own formula, cap and number of weeks. Pick a program above and enter your pay.
California Paid Family Leave (PFL), bonding with a new child
$1,038
a week · $8,308 for 8 weeks
| Weekly benefit | $1,038 |
| Average weekly wage used | $1,154 |
| Weeks paid (up to 8 weeks for this reason) | 8 weeks |
| Total for this leave | $8,308 |
| Federal income tax on it, about | $997 |
| Your take-home pay now, a week | $954 |
| Share of take-home pay replaced | 109 % before tax |
California: same table as SDI: 90% or 70% of high-quarter wages ÷ 13, between $50 and $1,765 a week, up to 8 weeks in 12 months.
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the estimates are built · state laws and agency pages read October 20, 2026
In 2026, paid family leave is a state benefit, available only where a state program exists: California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, Delaware, Maine, District of Columbia. Each program replaces part of your wages while you bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill relative, and most also pay for your own serious health condition. The formulas differ widely. At $60,000 a year of steady pay, the weekly benefit runs from about $693 in Rhode Island TCI to $1,038 in California PFL. Weekly maximums range from $900 in Delaware to $1,765 in California, and family leave lasts from 8 to 12 weeks for a new child. Workers pay for most programs through a payroll deduction; the District of Columbia is funded by employers alone. Maryland starts paying on January 1, 2028. Family leave benefits are federal taxable income under Revenue Ruling 2025-4.
Where paid family leave exists
Family leave insurance is written state by state. The table lists every program this site follows, with the figures in force when the agency pages were read, October 20, 2026; programs that pay only for your own health, such as Hawaii's, are on the state disability insurance page. A state not listed has no program: a worker there is paid during family leave only if the employer offers it.
| Program | Weekly maximum | Weeks for a new child | Weeks for a sick relative | Employee premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California PFL | $1,765 | 8 | 8 | included in the SDI rate |
| New York PFL | $1,228.53 | 12 | 12 | 0.432% |
| New Jersey FLI | $1,119 | 12 | 12 | 0.23% |
| Rhode Island TCI | $1,150 | 8 | 8 | included in the TDI rate |
| Washington PFML | $1,647 | 12 | 12 | 0.807% |
| Massachusetts PFML | $1,230.39 | 12 | 12 | 0.46% |
| CT Paid Leave | $1,016.40 | 12 | 12 | 0.5% |
| Paid Leave Oregon | $1,692.16 | 12 | 12 | 0.6% |
| Colorado FAMLI | $1,448.02 | 12 | 12 | 0.44% |
| Minnesota Paid Leave | $1,423 | 12 | 12 | 0.44% |
| Delaware Paid Leave | $900 | 12 | 6 | 0.4% |
| Maine PFML | $1,249.12 | 12 | 12 | 0.5% |
| DC PFL | $1,100 | 12 | 6 | employer-funded (0.75% of wages) |
| Maryland FAMLI | to come, January 1, 2028 | not set | not set | not set |
Compare two programs at your pay
New York Paid Family Leave, bonding with a new child
$773
| Weekly benefit | $773 |
| Average weekly wage used | $1,154 |
| Weeks paid (up to 12 weeks for this reason) | 12 weeks |
| Total for this leave | $9,277 |
Three ways to compute the check
The simplest programs pay one flat share of your weekly wage up to a cap: 67 % in New York, 85 % in New Jersey, 80 % in Delaware. Nothing changes as pay rises except that the cap eventually binds, which happens early in Delaware and late in New York.
Most of the newer programs use tiers. A high rate applies to the first part of your weekly wage, usually up to half of the state average weekly wage, and a lower rate to the rest: Washington, Massachusetts, Colorado, Maine and DC work this way, Connecticut with thresholds tied to the minimum wage, Oregon with a first tier at the full wage, and Minnesota with three tiers. Lower earners keep most of their pay under these designs.
California reads a band table and applies one rate to the whole wage, and Rhode Island takes a percentage of your best quarter. In both, a strong quarter matters more than steady pay; the base period page explains how to find it.
How many weeks
Weeks for a new child range from 8 in California and Rhode Island to 12 in most other states. Several programs also limit all reasons together: Washington, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Delaware publish a combined cap, and Maine counts family and medical weeks in one pool. DC cut its family care leave to 6 weeks on October 1, 2026, while keeping 12 weeks for parents.
Qualifying is measured differently
Each program sets its own test. New Jersey counts base-year weeks paid at least $310 or a total of $15,500; Rhode Island asks for $19,200 of base-period wages; Delaware asks for 1,250 hours with one employer; Maryland will ask for 680 hours in the state. A worker who just changed jobs or works part time should check the test on the program page before counting on the benefit.
Who pays for it
Most programs take a payroll deduction from workers, sometimes alongside an employer share. New York's is 0.432 % of wages, capped for the year; California's family leave is paid out of the SDI deduction. The District of Columbia charges employers only. The premium column of the table shows the employee share; the program pages explain how the rest is split.
Pay is not the same as job protection
A state benefit replaces wages; it does not by itself hold your job. Job protection comes from the federal FMLA, from some state leave laws, and in New York from the paid leave law itself. The FMLA and paid leave page sets out the difference. For a birth, the maternity leave pay page adds disability and bonding weeks in each state, and the tax page estimates the federal tax due on the benefits.