Workers' Comp Doesn't Pay Your Full Paycheck. Here's the Real Number.

A lot of injured workers assume workers' comp will replace their paycheck dollar for dollar.

That's not how it works.

The standard formula in most states is two-thirds — 66 2/3% — of your average weekly wage, not your full salary. If you were earning $900 a week before your injury, your weekly check lands closer to $600.

Your average weekly wage isn't just your last paycheck either. Most states calculate it using a set period before the injury, often the last 52 weeks of earnings, then divide that out. Overtime, bonuses, and a second job sometimes count toward it, and sometimes they don't, depending on your state's rules.

There's also a ceiling. Every state sets a maximum weekly benefit, tied to that state's average wage and adjusted annually. North Carolina's 2025 maximum is $1,380 a week under N.C.G.S. § 97-29(i), so even a high earner's two-thirds gets capped there no matter what the math says.

Here's what softens it: workers' comp checks are tax-free. So while two-thirds sounds brutal on paper, it's closer to what you were actually taking home after taxes anyway.

The bottom line is this: workers' comp was built to replace a portion of your income, not all of it, and knowing your state's exact formula before your first check arrives keeps you from being blindsided.

Did your first workers' comp check match what you expected, or did it catch you off guard?