SUTA wage base and new employer rate by state
Planning figures, not filing figures
Use this to budget and to compare states. Don’t file from it. Rates get reassigned, surcharges sit on top, and a handful of states publish ranges rather than one number. Your state agency has your actual combined rate, and the US Department of Labor keeps a directory of every state office.
The table
| State | Taxable wage base | New employer rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $8,000 | 2.7% | |
| Alaska | $54,200 | 1.5% | Alaska also withholds an employee share. |
| Arizona | $8,000 | 2% | |
| Arkansas | $7,000 | Varies | New employer rate not published as a single figure. Check with the state. |
| California | $7,000 | 3.4% | |
| Colorado | $30,600 | 3.05% | |
| Connecticut | $27,000 | 1.9% | |
| Delaware | $14,500 | 1% | |
| District of Columbia | $9,000 | 2.7% | Or the industry average, whichever applies. |
| Florida | $7,000 | 2.7% | |
| Georgia | $9,500 | 2.7% | |
| Hawaii | $64,500 | 2.4% | |
| Idaho | $58,300 | 1% | |
| Illinois | $14,250 | 3.35 to 3.45% | |
| Indiana | $9,500 | 2.5% | |
| Iowa | $20,400 | 1% | |
| Kansas | $15,100 | 1.75% | |
| Kentucky | $12,000 | 2.7% | |
| Louisiana | $7,000 | Varies | Varies by industry. Check with the state. |
| Maine | $12,000 | 2.54% | |
| Maryland | $8,500 | 1.0 to 2.6% | |
| Massachusetts | $15,000 | 2.13% | |
| Michigan | $9,500 | 2.7% | Drops to $9,000 if the state trust fund balance stays above $2.5bn for two consecutive quarters. |
| Minnesota | $44,000 | Varies | Varies by industry. |
| Mississippi | $14,000 | 1.0 to 1.2% | |
| Missouri | $9,000 | 1.0 to 2.376% | |
| Montana | $47,300 | Varies | Varies by industry. |
| Nebraska | $9,000 | 1.25% | Rises to $24,000 for employers in the highest rate category. |
| Nevada | $43,700 | 2.95% | |
| New Hampshire | $14,000 | 2.7% | |
| New Jersey | $44,800 | 2.8% | New Jersey also withholds an employee share. |
| New Mexico | $34,800 | 1% | Or the industry average, whichever applies. |
| New York | $13,000 | 4.1% | Up from $12,800 in 2025. Some published tables still show $17,600, which is wrong. |
| North Carolina | $34,200 | 1% | |
| North Dakota | $46,600 | 1.03 to 6.09% | Sources disagree on the wage base. We found both $46,600 and $45,100. Confirm with the state before filing. |
| Ohio | $9,500 | 2.85% | Rose from $9,000 on 1 January 2026. Older tables still show $9,000. |
| Oklahoma | $25,000 | 1.5% | |
| Oregon | $56,700 | 2.4% | |
| Pennsylvania | $10,000 | 3.822% | Pennsylvania also withholds a small employee share. |
| Rhode Island | $30,800 | 1.21% | |
| South Carolina | $14,000 | 0.21 to 1.0% | |
| South Dakota | $15,000 | 1.75% | |
| Tennessee | $7,000 | 2.7% | |
| Texas | $9,000 | 2.7% | Or the industry average, whichever applies. |
| Utah | $50,700 | Varies | Varies by industry. |
| Vermont | $15,400 | 1% | |
| Virginia | $8,000 | 2.5% | |
| Washington | $78,200 | Varies | Up from $72,800 in 2025, and set at 80% of the state average annual wage. Rate varies by industry. |
| West Virginia | $9,500 | Varies | New employer rate not published as a single figure. Check with the state. |
| Wisconsin | $14,000 | 3.05 to 3.25% | |
| Wyoming | $33,800 | Varies | Varies by industry. |
What the spread actually means
Take one employee earning $45,000 in Washington against the same employee in a state at the federal minimum. In Washington you’re taxed on $78,200 of their wages. At the federal minimum you’re taxed on $7,000. Same worker, same salary, wildly different unemployment bill.
5 jurisdictions sit right at the federal floor of $7,000, including California, Florida and Texas. That floor exists because FUTA requires every state base to match the federal $7,000 at minimum.
Why published tables disagree, and why we flagged it
We cross-checked several published sources while building this, and they contradicted each other more often than we expected. Almost every conflict traced back to the same thing, which is a table carrying last year’s figure without saying which year it was.
| State | What we found published | What we believe is right |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | $78,200 and $72,800 | $78,200. The lower figure is the 2025 base. |
| Ohio | $9,500 and $9,000 | $9,500. It rose on 1 January 2026. |
| New York | $13,000 and $17,600 | $13,000, up from $12,800 in 2025. |
| North Dakota | $46,600 and $45,100 | Unresolved. We list $46,600 and we’d confirm this one directly. |
We’d rather show you the disagreement than pick one quietly and hope. If you’re in one of those four states, spend the two minutes with your state agency before you budget from it.
What this table leaves out
- Surcharges and assessments. Many states add these on top under various names. Individually small, collectively not.
- Industry-specific rates. Construction in particular often gets a higher new employer rate than the general one shown here.
- Employee-side contributions. A few states, including Alaska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, also withhold from the employee.
- Your experience rating. After two or three years you’re rated on your own claims history, and the new employer rate stops applying.
Put your state’s numbers straight into the calculator
Our first employee cost calculator now has a state picker that fills in the wage base and new employer rate from this table, so you can see what the difference does to a real hire.
Common questions
What is the SUTA wage base?
It's the maximum amount of each employee's annual wages your state charges unemployment tax on. Earn above it and the rest is untaxed for SUTA. In 2026 it ranges from $7,000 in several states up to $78,200 in Washington, which is more than an eleven-fold difference for the same employee.
What rate will I pay as a brand new employer?
Most states assign a flat new employer rate for the first two or three years, commonly somewhere between 1% and 4%. After that you get rated on your own claims history, so an employer who never has a former employee claim benefits usually drifts down over time.
Why do published SUTA tables disagree with each other?
Mostly because they carry last year's number without saying so. While compiling this we found Washington published as both $78,200 and $72,800, where the second is the 2025 figure. Ohio appeared as both $9,500 and $9,000, and it rose on 1 January 2026. New York appeared as both $13,000 and $17,600. We've flagged every row where we found a conflict.
Does this include surcharges?
No, and that matters. Many states add assessments on top of the headline rate, with names like administrative fund tax, employment training tax, or job development assessment. They are usually small individually and they do add up. Your state agency shows your actual combined rate.