Pennsylvania Workers' Comp Rates 2026: The Four-Tier Table

Ask how much workers' comp pays in most states and you get one answer: two-thirds of your wage, between a minimum and a maximum. Pennsylvania's answer has four parts. Its Workers' Compensation Act protects low-wage workers by paying them a larger share, and the result is a tiered table that confuses a lot of people, especially the many workers who receive exactly $697 a week. This guide walks through the 2026 table and the rules around it.

Where the 2026 numbers come from

Each year the Department of Labor & Industry announces the statewide average weekly wage (SAWW). For injuries on or after January 1, 2026, it is $1,394.00, up 3.5% from 2025. The SAWW is also the maximum weekly benefit, and the other bands are fractions of it.

The four bands for 2026 injuries

Your average weekly wage	Weekly benefit
More than $2,091.00	$1,394.00 (maximum)
$1,045.51 to $2,091.00	66⅔% of your wage
$774.44 to $1,045.50	$697.00 flat
$774.43 or less	90% of your wage

Why the flat band? Two-thirds of $1,045.50 is $697, which is half the SAWW. Pennsylvania guarantees that anyone earning more than $774.43 receives at least half the SAWW, and the 90% rule covers workers below that. The middle band is where the two rules meet.

What this means in practice

AWW	Benefit	Band
$700	$630.00	90%
$900	$697.00	Flat
$1,300	$866.67	Two-thirds
$2,500	$1,394.00	Maximum

The benefit always follows the table for your date of injury. A worker hurt in December 2024 stays on the 2024 maximum of $1,325 even if benefits continue into 2026.

How your average weekly wage is figured

For most workers, Pennsylvania averages the highest three of the last four 13-week periods before the injury, which helps workers whose hours dipped right before they were hurt. Overtime and wages from concurrent employment generally count. If you worked fewer than 13 weeks, other formulas apply. Because every number on this page starts from the AWW, check the insurer's figure on your Notice of Compensation Payable or Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable.

The waiting period

Benefits are not paid for the first seven days of disability. If the disability lasts 14 days or more, those seven days are paid as well.

Partial disability: back at work for less

If you return to work earning less than before, Pennsylvania pays two-thirds of the difference between your AWW and your current earnings, up to the maximum, for up to 500 weeks.

A worker with a $1,300 AWW who returns to a job paying $800 has a $500 gap. Partial benefits are two-thirds of that, $333.33 a week.

The 104-week impairment rating evaluation

Total disability in Pennsylvania has no fixed end date, but after you have received 104 weeks of total disability, the insurer can ask you to attend an impairment rating evaluation (IRE). Under the 2018 amendment to the Act, if the doctor rates your whole-body impairment below 35%, your status can be changed from total to partial. Your weekly amount usually stays the same, but the 500-week limit for partial benefits starts running. The IRE is one of the most contested parts of Pennsylvania comp, and it's worth getting advice before you attend.

Specific loss benefits

Pennsylvania pays a separate benefit for the permanent loss, or loss of use, of certain body parts. Each body part carries a set number of weeks at two-thirds of your wage. The loss of use of an arm, for example, is worth 410 weeks, and these benefits are paid in addition to a healing period. This calculator doesn't compute specific loss awards.

What to do in the first two weeks after a Pennsylvania work injury

The first days after an injury decide how smoothly the rest of the claim goes. Most delays and disputes trace back to something that was missed early, so it helps to work through a short list.

1. Get medical care and say it happened at work. Tell the clinic or emergency room that the injury is work-related, so the records and the bill go to workers' comp rather than your health insurance.
2. Report the injury to your employer. Pennsylvania asks you to notify your employer within 21 days; notice after 120 days generally bars the claim. Report it in writing, even if you also told a supervisor in person, and keep a copy or a photo of what you sent.
3. File the claim. If the insurer doesn't accept the claim, you can file a Claim Petition with the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, generally within three years of the injury.
4. Ask for the work status note. After each visit, ask the doctor for written work restrictions or an off-work note, and give a copy to your employer. Benefits follow those notes.
5. Save your pay records. Gather pay stubs for the period your state uses to set the average weekly wage. You'll need them to check the first payment.
6. Write things down. Keep a simple log of calls with the adjuster, dates of appointments and days missed. It takes minutes and settles most later arguments.
7. Read every form the insurer sends. A Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable lets the insurer pay for 90 days before deciding. A Notice of Compensation Payable means the claim is accepted. A denial must be issued in writing.

If your Pennsylvania check is late or looks wrong

Start with the numbers. Divide your weekly check by your average weekly wage and compare the result with the formula above. If it is lower than it should be, the usual causes are an average weekly wage that left out overtime or part of the look-back period, the wrong year's rate table, or days counted under the waiting period that should have been paid back.

Then ask the insurer, in writing, for the wage statement and the calculation it used. Most errors are corrected at this stage once you send pay stubs that show the difference. If payments have stopped without a written explanation, or the insurer won't correct a clear mistake, contact the Bureau of Workers' Compensation's claimant services. State agencies run ombudsman or customer-assistance programs for injured workers, and a workers' compensation attorney can review the claim; in most states their fees are limited by law and come out of the benefits recovered rather than being billed up front.

What Pennsylvania workers ask most

Why is my check exactly $697? Your AWW falls in the flat band, between $774.44 and $1,045.50.

Can I get more than the maximum? No. The cap in effect on your injury date is the ceiling for wage-loss benefits.

Are benefits taxed? No. Workers' compensation is not federally taxable, and Pennsylvania doesn't tax it either.

Who chooses my doctor? If your employer posts a list of at least six designated providers, you generally must treat with one of them for the first 90 days.

Calculate your Pennsylvania rate

The Pennsylvania workers' comp calculator places your AWW in the correct band for 2026, applies the waiting period, and handles partial disability.

Sources

• Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Statewide Average Weekly Wage and rate schedule
• White and Williams, NJ and PA workers' compensation benefits for 2026
• Pennsylvania State Workers' Insurance Fund, claims and indemnity
• Workers' Compensation Act, 77 P.S. §§511, 512, 514, 525.1