Colorado Unemployment Benefits Calculator
Estimate your Colorado unemployment benefits. Max weekly: $884. Max weeks: 26. Free calculator.
If you earned a steady $1,000 a week for the past year with no dependents, Colorado's benefit formula gives about $600 a week in Colorado unemployment for up to 26 weeks, $15,600 in total. Enter your own wages below; Colorado's unemployment agency makes the official determination.
Estimate only, not an official determination. What this estimate covers and its limits
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Estimated Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA)
Estimated • Based on your inputs
Estimated Monthly Benefit
$2,598.00
Detailed Breakdown
Cumulative Benefits
Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only. Results should not be considered financial, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional for your specific situation.
How This Calculator Works
Calculation methodology and assumptions
Colorado calculates your Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA) as the HIGHER of two formulas (C.R.S. §8-73-102): (1) 60% of 1/26 of your two highest consecutive quarters' combined wages, capped at $804; or (2) 50% of 1/52 of your total base-period wages, capped at $884. Those two maxima are the ones the U.S. DOL July 2026 table prints for Colorado after the July 1, 2026 reset; a claim filed before then keeps the maxima on its determination. Each branch is rounded down to a whole dollar before applying the $25 overall floor. Colorado pays no dependent allowance. Your maximum total benefit is the whole-dollar lesser of 1/3 of your total base-period wages or 26 times your weekly amount. DOL reports 13-26 weeks for eligible claims; this calculator does not determine monetary eligibility, so inconsistent wage inputs preserve the dollar cap and may show a shorter period with a partial final week rather than inflating the total.
Estimate only — these are not official figures
The weekly benefit applies Colorado's exact statutory formula, cited in the methodology and sources, so it matches the law when the wages you enter are accurate. The page is still labeled an estimate because its monthly figure (the weekly amount times 4.33) is not an amount the state pays and only the state agency can decide whether you qualify. The maximum weekly benefit ($884) and duration (26 weeks) come from published sources.
Do not rely on these amounts for budgeting or payment. For exact amounts, check the Colorado state unemployment insurance agency (file there and use its official benefits estimator for your actual Weekly Benefit Amount determination).
Key State Information
For claims from July 1, 2026, Colorado's maximum weekly UI benefit is $884 through the base-period-wages formula or $804 through the two-highest-quarters formula, whichever formula gives you more, with a $25 minimum. There is no dependent allowance. Standard duration is 13-26 weeks.
Example Calculation
Let's review the inputs that set unemployment benefits in Colorado.
Colorado uses its own benefit formula from state law rather than a general 50%-of-wage estimate. Enter the exact quarter/base-period wage and eligibility fields requested by the calculator; the required inputs differ by state and cannot be reconstructed safely from median household income.
Result: Published maximum weekly amount: $884. Current maximum duration: 26 weeks. These are ceilings, not a typical award; the calculator above applies Colorado's source-backed formula to your own wage history, and only the state agency determines eligibility.
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StateCalc Team
Editorial Team
The StateCalc team builds free financial calculators using data from official government sources including the IRS, U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, and state revenue departments. All formulas are validated by an automated test suite and cross-referenced against published data.
Our editorial standardsFrequently Asked Questions
How much is unemployment in Colorado?
Colorado pays whichever is higher of two formulas — one based on your two highest quarters, one based on your total base-period wages — each independently capped as a percentage of the state average weekly wage, floored at $25 and capped at $884/week overall for claims from July 1, 2026. A worker with $26,000 in their two highest quarters and $52,000 in total base-period wages would get an estimated $600/week.
Does Colorado pay extra for dependents?
No. Colorado UI does not pay a dependent allowance.
How long do Colorado unemployment benefits last?
13 to 26 weeks, capped at the lesser of 1/3 of your total base-period wages or 26 times your weekly benefit amount.
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