Impairment Rating Payout Calculator: What Your Rating Pays, State by State
An impairment rating is turned into money by three numbers your state's law sets: the weeks each rating point is worth, the share of your wage paid each week, and a weekly cap. A 10 percent rating at a $1,000 weekly wage pays $30,000 in Tennessee, $20,000 in Georgia and $10,000 in Florida.
Pick the state, enter the rating your doctor gave and your average weekly wage.
Hurt at work and given a rating? See what your whole claim may be worth, including any claim against someone outside work, free, in about a minute.
Same rating, different state
What an impairment rating pays
An impairment rating is a doctor's percentage. On its own it pays nothing. Your state's workers' compensation law turns it into money with three numbers it writes down in advance: how many weeks each rating point is worth, what share of your wage is paid each of those weeks, and the most it will pay in any one week. Change the state and all three change, which is why the same injury and the same paycheck can be worth three times as much on one side of a state line as on the other.
| A 10 percent rating in | Weeks paid | Weekly check at a $1,000 wage | Total at a $1,000 wage | Total at a $2,000 wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina, whole person | 50 | $666.67 | $33,333 | $59,497 |
| Tennessee, body as a whole | 45 | $666.67 | $30,000 | $60,000 |
| Missouri, body as a whole | 40 | $666.67 | $26,667 | $27,127 |
| Texas, whole person | 30 | $700.00 | $21,000 | $27,600 |
| North Carolina, back | 30 | $666.67 | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| South Carolina, back | 30 | $666.67 | $20,000 | $35,698 |
| Georgia, body as a whole | 30 | $666.67 | $20,000 | $24,000 |
| Florida, whole person | 20 | $500.00 | $10,000 | $20,000 |
Permanent partial disability for a 10 percent rating, using each state's weekly maximum for an injury in late 2026: Tennessee $1,353, South Carolina $1,189.94, Missouri $678.18, Texas $920, North Carolina $1,446, Georgia $800, Florida $1,358 before its 75 percent factor. Weekly minimums are left out; they matter only at very low wages. The statute behind each row is in the state table below.
Look at the $2,000 column. At that wage Missouri and Georgia stop moving, because their weekly caps ($678.18 and $800) cut in long before a $2,000 paycheck. North Carolina and Tennessee keep paying two thirds of it. A higher wage helps you only in a state whose cap sits above your two thirds, and that line falls at a very different paycheck in each state.
Three numbers
How a rating becomes a payment
When your treating doctor decides you have healed as far as you are going to, a point called maximum medical improvement, the doctor measures what is left: lost motion, lost strength, a fused level of the spine, nerve damage. That loss is written as a percentage, either of one body part (the arm, the hand) or of the whole person. Which one your doctor uses is decided by your state's law, not by the doctor's preference.
The statute assigns a number of weeks to the whole body or to each listed part. Tennessee uses 450 weeks for the whole body, Missouri 400, Georgia and the North Carolina back 300. Texas skips the total and simply pays 3 weeks for every point. Florida climbs in steps: 2 weeks a point for the first ten points, then 3, then 4, then 6. Your rating, multiplied out, is the number of weeks you are paid.
Each of those weeks is paid at a share of your average weekly wage, usually two thirds. Texas pays 70 percent. Florida pays 75 percent of your temporary disability check, which itself is two thirds of your wage, so roughly half your pay. Every state then caps the weekly amount. The cap in force on the day you were hurt is the one that applies for the life of the claim.
Multiply the two and you have the permanent partial disability award the law guarantees. It is paid on top of the medical care and on top of the weekly checks you received while you could not work, which are separate benefits with their own rules.
The statutes
State by state: weeks, rate and the 2026 cap
| State | How the rating converts | Weekly rate | Weekly cap, recent injuries | Law |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | Rating times 450 weeks; every permanent injury is rated to the body as a whole | 66 2/3% of wage | $1,353 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027); $1,297 the year before | T.C.A. § 50-6-207(3)(A) |
| Georgia | Body as a whole: rating times 300 weeks. Listed parts: arm 225, leg 225, hand 160, eye 150, foot 135, thumb 60 | 66 2/3% of wage | $800 (injuries since July 1, 2023) | O.C.G.A. §§ 34-9-263, 34-9-261 |
| Florida | 2 weeks a point for 1 to 10 percent, 3 for 11 to 15, 4 for 16 to 20, 6 for every point from 21 | 75% of the temporary total check (two thirds of wage) | $1,358 for the temporary check, 2026 injuries, so about $1,018.50 a week here | Fla. Stat. § 440.15(3)(c), (g) |
| Texas | 3 weeks for every point | 70% of wage | $920 (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027); $890 the year before | Tex. Labor Code §§ 408.121, 408.126 |
| South Carolina | Back up to 49 percent: rating times 300 weeks. Other parts of the body not on the schedule: share of the whole person, up to 500 weeks | 66 2/3% of wage | $1,189.94 (2026 injuries) | S.C. Code § 42-9-30(21), (22) |
| North Carolina | Back: rating times 300 weeks | 66 2/3% of wage | $1,446 (2026 injuries) | N.C.G.S. § 97-31(23) |
| Missouri | Body as a whole: rating times 400 weeks | 66 2/3% of wage | $678.18 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027); $670.92 the year before | RSMo § 287.190.3, .5 |
Caps from the Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation, the Georgia Code, the Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, the Texas Department of Insurance, the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission, the North Carolina Industrial Commission and the Missouri rate announcements. Missouri caps the permanent partial rate at 55 percent of the state average weekly wage, far below its cap for temporary checks.
Why these seven. Each converts a rating straight into weeks with a number written in the statute, so the math can be done to the dollar. Some states work differently: Alabama pays two thirds of the drop in what you can earn, and other states weigh age, education or wage loss. Those deserve their own page and are left out here rather than guessed.
Before the math
Where your rating comes from, and how to check it
Most ratings are written by the treating doctor at the visit where you are declared at maximum medical improvement. The doctor uses a rating method your state names. Florida, for example, rates under a uniform permanent impairment rating schedule set by rule (Fla. Stat. § 440.15(3)(b)), while many other states point their doctors to the American Medical Association guides. Two doctors can look at the same knee and land several points apart, and every point carries real money: in Tennessee one point is 4.5 weeks of pay, in Texas 3 weeks.
Read the report, not just the number. Check that it rates every part that was hurt, including the shoulder that was injured in the same fall as the wrist, and that it says whether the percentage is of the part or of the whole person. A hand rating and a whole person rating of the same size are worth very different amounts in Georgia: 10 percent of a hand is 16 weeks, 10 percent of the body as a whole is 30.
If you disagree, ask before you sign anything. Texas sends disputed ratings to a designated doctor chosen by the state's Division of Workers' Compensation (Tex. Labor Code § 408.0041), and the other states have their own routes to a second opinion or an independent evaluation. Settling first and questioning later rarely works, because a settlement usually closes the rating for good.
The levers
Why the same rating pays three times more in one state
Three levers decide it, and each state pulls them differently.
The length of the clock. Tennessee multiplies your rating by 450 weeks; Georgia by 300. A 12 percent back rating is 54 weeks of checks in Tennessee and 36 in Georgia before the wage even enters the picture.
The size of each check. Most states pay two thirds of your wage. Texas pays 70 percent, a little more. Florida pays three quarters of your temporary check, so roughly half your wage, and cuts that in half again for any week in which you earn at least your old average wage (Fla. Stat. § 440.15(3)(c)). That is why Florida sits at the bottom of the table above.
Where the cap cuts in. A cap turns two thirds of your wage into a flat amount once you earn enough. In Missouri that happens at a wage of about $1,017 a week, in Georgia at $1,200, in Texas at about $1,314. In Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina it takes a wage above $2,000 a week. If you earn more than the line in your state, a raise you got last year no longer changes the award.
Weeks already paid can matter. Georgia does not start the rating payment while you are still entitled to temporary checks (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-263(b)), and some states count weeks already paid against a total. Ask how your state treats the weeks you were off work before you add the two together.
Beyond the rating
Payments that can come on top
The rating award is a floor. Several of these states add to it when the injury keeps you from earning what you did.
| State | What can add to the rating award | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | If you are not back at work at your old pay when the rating weeks end, the award is multiplied by 1.35, and by up to three more factors for education, age and local unemployment. | T.C.A. § 50-6-207(3)(B) |
| Texas | With a rating of 15 percent or more, and earning less than 80 percent of your old wage because of the injury when the rating weeks end, you may qualify for supplemental income benefits, paid month by month. | Tex. Labor Code § 408.142 |
| South Carolina | A back rated at 50 percent or more is paid over 500 weeks and the worker is presumed totally and permanently disabled. | S.C. Code § 42-9-30(21) |
| North Carolina | A worker whose injury cuts what they can earn may claim ongoing wage loss benefits instead of the rating payment and choose the larger of the two. | N.C.G.S. §§ 97-29, 97-30; Whitley v. Columbia Lumber (1986) |
For Tennessee's multipliers worked through to the dollar, see the Tennessee workers' comp calculator.
Worked through
Four ratings, calculated
A lift injury to the lower back, an average weekly wage of $900, and a 12 percent whole person rating from the treating doctor.
- Weeks: 12 points times 3
- 36
- Weekly check: 70 percent of $900
- $630.00
- Impairment income benefits
- $22,680
Below the 15 percent line, so no supplemental income benefits follow, whatever happens with work.
A shoulder and neck injury moving a patient, a $1,100 average weekly wage, an 18 percent rating. She returns to her old unit at her old pay.
- Weeks: 10 × 2, then 5 × 3, then 3 × 4
- 47
- Weekly check: 75% of $733.33
- $550.00
- Full award
- $25,850
- Halved for weeks at full pay
- $12,925
Florida cuts the check in half for every week she earns at least her old wage. Had she stayed off work, the full $25,850 would apply.
A back injury with a fusion, an average weekly wage of $1,400, a 15 percent body as a whole rating.
- Weeks: 15 percent of 400
- 60
- Two thirds of $1,400, capped
- $678.18
- Permanent partial disability
- $40,691
Two thirds of his wage would be $933.33, but Missouri's cap for these benefits stops the check at $678.18, so the higher wage adds nothing to this part of the claim.
A delivery driver with a herniated disc, a $1,300 average weekly wage and an 8 percent body as a whole rating.
- Weeks: 8 percent of 300
- 24
- Two thirds of $1,300, capped
- $800.00
- Permanent partial disability
- $19,200
If another driver caused the crash, the comp award is only part of the money. A claim against that driver is separate and is not limited by the comp tables.
Award or settlement
The rating award and a settlement are not the same number
The award is what the statute guarantees for the rating. A settlement is a deal: you take a sum, usually in one payment, and in return the claim closes. A settlement can be larger than the rating award when it also buys out future medical care or the extra benefits described above, and smaller when the insurer disputes the rating, the wage or whether the injury happened at work. Many states require a judge or the workers' compensation agency to approve it; Tennessee does under T.C.A. § 50-6-240.
So use the calculator as the floor, not the offer. If an offer is close to the bare rating award while you still need treatment, it is giving up future medical care for very little, and that is the moment to have someone read it with you.
The money outside comp
When someone else caused the injury
Workers' compensation is no fault and has no payment for pain and suffering. The rating award is all it pays for a permanent injury. When a person or company other than your employer caused the injury, such as the driver who hit your work van or the maker of a defective machine, you may also have a claim against them. That claim is valued like any injury case, including pain, the full lost wage with no cap, and the rest of your losses. Your employer's insurer usually gets repaid from it for what comp paid, which is why the two claims need to be handled together. Read more in our guide to third party work injury claims.
Questions people in the United States ask
Impairment rating payout questions
How much is a 10 percent impairment rating worth?
It depends on the state and your wage. At a $1,000 average weekly wage, a 10 percent rating pays about $30,000 in Tennessee (45 weeks at $666.67), $26,667 in Missouri, $21,000 in Texas, $20,000 in Georgia for a body as a whole rating and $10,000 in Florida. South Carolina pays $33,333 for a 10 percent whole person rating but $20,000 for the back.
How do I calculate my impairment rating payout?
Multiply your rating by the number of weeks your state assigns to the body part or the whole body, then multiply by your weekly rate, usually two thirds of your average weekly wage up to the state's weekly cap. Texas uses 3 weeks for each point at 70 percent of your wage, and Florida uses 2 to 6 weeks a point at 75 percent of your temporary check.
What does a whole person impairment rating mean?
It measures the permanent loss from your injury against the whole body rather than one part. A back or neck injury is usually rated this way. Some states convert a part rating, such as a hand, to a whole person figure; others pay the part on its own schedule of weeks.
What is the impairment rating payout in Texas?
Texas pays impairment income benefits of 3 weeks for each percentage point, at 70 percent of your average weekly wage, up to $920 a week for injuries from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 (Tex. Labor Code §§ 408.121, 408.126). A 15 percent rating or more can also open supplemental income benefits if you earn less than 80 percent of your old wage.
What is the impairment rating payout in Florida?
Florida pays 2 weeks a point for the first 10 points, 3 weeks for points 11 to 15, 4 weeks for 16 to 20 and 6 weeks for each point from 21, at 75 percent of your temporary total disability check. The check is halved for any week you earn at least your old average wage (Fla. Stat. § 440.15(3)).
What is the impairment rating payout in Georgia?
Georgia multiplies a body as a whole rating by 300 weeks and pays two thirds of your average weekly wage, up to $800 a week for injuries since July 1, 2023. Listed parts have their own weeks: arm and leg 225, hand 160, eye 150, foot 135, thumb 60 (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-263).
Does an impairment rating payment depend on going back to work?
In some states, yes. Florida halves the check in weeks you earn your old wage or more. Tennessee multiplies the award by at least 1.35 if you are not back at your old pay when the rating weeks end. Texas adds supplemental benefits for ratings of 15 percent or more when your earnings stay below 80 percent of your old wage.
Is the impairment rating payout the same as my settlement?
No. The rating payout is what the statute guarantees. A settlement is a deal that closes the claim, often in one payment, and may also buy out future medical care. Use the rating payout as a floor when you look at an offer.
Can I get more than workers' comp for a work injury?
If someone other than your employer caused it, such as another driver, you may have a separate injury claim against them that includes pain and suffering and your full lost wages. Workers' comp pays neither of those, and the two claims need to be coordinated because comp is usually repaid from the other recovery.
Where every number comes from
Sources
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-207, compensation schedule, permanent partial disability and increased benefits. codes.findlaw.com
- Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation, weekly compensation rates chart (injuries through June 30, 2027). www.tn.gov
- Ga. Code § 34-9-263, compensation for permanent partial disability, schedule of weeks and the body as a whole. codes.findlaw.com
- Ga. Code § 34-9-261, weekly maximum of $800 for total disability. codes.findlaw.com
- Fla. Stat. § 440.15(3), impairment income benefits: weeks per point, 75 percent rate, 50 percent reduction. http:
- Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, average weekly wage and maximum compensation rate. www.myfloridacfo.com
- Tex. Labor Code § 408.121, impairment income benefits, 3 weeks per percentage point. texas.public.law
- Tex. Labor Code § 408.126, impairment income benefits at 70 percent of the average weekly wage. texas.public.law
- Tex. Labor Code § 408.142, supplemental income benefits. texas.public.law
- Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation, maximum and minimum weekly benefits by fiscal year. tdi.texas.gov
- S.C. Code § 42-9-30, compensation for specific injuries, including the back and unscheduled parts of the body. www.scstatehouse.gov
- South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission, 2026 maximum weekly compensation rate. wcc.sc.gov
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-31, schedule of injuries, including (23) the back. www.ncleg.gov
- North Carolina Industrial Commission, maximum weekly compensation rates. ic.nc.gov
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 287.190, permanent partial disability, 400 weeks and the 55 percent cap. revisor.mo.gov
- Missouri Department of Labor, state average weekly wage and maximums, July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. labor.mo.gov
- Missouri rates for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 as published by MVP Law. mvplaw.com
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