North Dakota Unemployment Calculator: Up to $800/Week

Use the highest two and a half quarters

Job Service North Dakota sorts the four covered wage quarters from highest to lowest. Add the two largest quarters and half of the third largest. Divide this sum by 65, then round down to a whole dollar. The fourth largest quarter is excluded from the weekly formula, but it still matters for qualification and duration.

The benefit chart effective July 5, 2026 through July 3, 2027 publishes a $43 minimum and $800 maximum. The wage worksheet supports that full published schedule, rather than stopping at the October 1 source-review date. A blank date uses your current local date. Earlier dates cannot use this annual chart, and dates after July 3, 2027 require the official-award worksheet without inferring a successor.

For $5,000, $4,000, $2,000 and $1,000 quarters, the formula wages are $10,000: $5,000 plus $4,000 plus half of $2,000. Dividing by 65 gives $153.8462, rounded down to $153. Ten modeled full weeks draw $1,530; optional 10% withholding shows $137.70 per weekly payment.

A formula-wage sum of $2,795 reaches $43. One cent below this boundary rounds to $42 and is monetarily ineligible. A $52,000 formula-wage sum reaches the $800 cap; one cent less gives $799. The minimum is an eligibility threshold, not an automatic increase for a smaller calculation.

Actual total wages must reach 1.5 times the high quarter

Section 52-06-04 requires covered wages in at least two calendar quarters and total wages of at least 1.5 times the highest quarter. The weekly-rate calculation must also reach $43. Passing one condition does not replace the others.

A $5,000 high quarter requires at least $7,500 in total wages. A record of $5,000, $2,500, zero and zero qualifies for the wage distribution test. Reducing the second quarter by one cent fails it.

The agency spreadsheet rounds its displayed wage ratio to two decimals. Near the 1.50 qualification boundary, that display can suggest a pass even when actual wages are insufficient under the statute. This worksheet applies the actual dollar requirement before selecting a duration. It does not round $7,499.99 up to $7,500.

Use only the covered wages accepted for your claim. Related-business employment, a subsequent benefit year and other special wage-credit limits require Job Service review.

The agency ratio selects 12 to 26 weeks

Divide all four quarters' wages by the highest quarter. The current Job Service estimator rounds that duration ratio to two decimals. Its table assigns 12 weeks at 1.50, 14 at 2.30, 16 at 2.45, 18 at 2.60, 20 at 2.75, 22 at 2.90, 24 at 3.05 and 26 at 3.20 or above.

The $5,000, $4,000, $2,000 and $1,000 example has a 2.40 ratio and receives a 14-week ordinary account: 14 times $153 equals $2,142. The maximum duration is not automatically 26 weeks for every qualifying worker.

The denominator is always the largest of all four selected quarters. Changing which quarter is largest changes both the wage distribution ratio and the ranking used for the weekly formula.

A valid distribution of $5,000, $3,000, $3,000 and $475 totals $11,475. Its ratio of 2.295 rounds to 2.30 and selects 14 weeks; one cent less rounds to 2.29 and selects 12. This rounding affects duration, while the unrounded statutory wage test remains separate.

Account draws and the selected base period

The ordinary maximum potential benefit amount is the weekly rate multiplied by the duration. Requested full weeks cannot draw more than that account. Partial earnings and other deductions can change actual weekly payment and timing without creating a larger ordinary account.

Use the base period Job Service selected: normally the four completed quarters that precede the most recent one. Blank quarters stay unknown; enter zero only when the selected record confirms no wages. This estimate does not decide job separation, work search, availability, extensions or repeat-claim eligibility.

Primary North Dakota sources

• Job Service July 2026 benefit chart: weekly bands, duration and base-period examples.
• Current Job Service benefit estimator spreadsheet: descending-quarter formula and two-decimal duration ratio.
• North Dakota Century Code chapter 52-06: sections 04 and 05 on monetary qualification and maximum potential benefits.

Reviewed October 1, 2026. Confirm the agency monetary determination before budgeting from the estimate.

Supported claim periods and annual handoff

The North Dakota wage-estimate calendar supports 2026-07-05 to 2027-07-03. Source dates describe when evidence was checked; they do not create a legal expiration. A blank claim date uses the current local date. After a finite schedule ends, the form shows an explicit official-award worksheet. Enter the weekly award, maximum account and authorized weeks from the determination. An unverified successor rate is never copied from the previous annual table.