The same $70,000 hire, in every state we have verified
One employee. One salary. 12% benefits. The only thing that changes between rows is the state — and every figure below is computed at build time from the rate packs on this site, not typed into a table. 14 of 51 US jurisdictions are verified so far; the other 37 are not shown, because a state we have not read on the agency’s own page gets no row rather than an estimated one.
Washington is verified but has no row. That state assigns a new employer a share of an industry average that the agency does not publish, so there is no new-employer rate to compute with — the wage base and the experience range are known and the starting rate is not. Rather than invent one, Washington’s page explains what the agency does publish and where the real rate arrives from.
Spread across verified states
$1,502
Pennsylvania costs that much more than Arizona for the identical hire.
Widest taxable wage base
$44,800
New Jersey. The narrowest is California at $7,000 — a 6× difference in what the tax applies to.
Employer multiplier
$1
What a dollar of salary actually costs, at the cheapest verified state on these inputs.
| State | New-employer rate | Taxable wage base | State UI tax | Total employer cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 3.822–10.5924% | $10,000 | $382 – $1,059 | $85,459 – $86,136 |
| New Jersey | 2.6825% | $44,800 | $1,202 | $85,275 |
| California | 3.4% | $7,000 | $238 | $85,092 |
| New York | 4.025% | $17,600 | $708 | $84,519 |
| Illinois | 3.35–3.45% | $14,250 | $477 – $492 | $84,353 – $84,367 |
| Massachusetts | 2.42–6.08% | $15,000 | $363 – $912 | $84,168 – $84,717 |
| North Carolina | 1% | $34,200 | $342 | $84,139 |
| Ohio | 2.85–5.85% | $9,000 | $257 – $527 | $84,067 – $84,337 |
| Georgia | 2.7% | $9,500 | $257 | $84,054 |
| Texas | 2.7% | $9,000 | $243 | $84,050 |
| Michigan | 2.7% | $9,000 | $243 | $84,040 |
| Iowa | 1–5.4% | $20,400 | $204 – $1,102 | $84,001 – $84,899 |
| Tennessee | 2.7% | $7,000 | $189 | $83,986 |
| Arizona | 2% | $8,000 | $160 | $83,957 |
What the table shows
The state unemployment tax is the only line that moves, and it moves far less than the rate alone suggests — because each state caps it at its own taxable wage base, and those bases differ by multiples rather than percentages. New Jersey taxes $44,800 of each wage while California taxes $7,000, so a higher rate on a lower base can cost an employer less.
This is the figure calculators most often get wrong. A widely-used one applies a single $7,000 base to every state — correct for a handful, and wrong by a factor of nearly five for New Jersey.
Workers’ compensation is not in any row. Workers' compensation is priced by class code, payroll, and insurer — there is no honest flat rate. Get a quote from your state fund or a licensed broker, then add it here.
Where these came from
Verified 2026-08-04 against Social Security Administration — Contribution and Benefit Base (Automatic Determinations), 2026 (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-04 against IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide — section 14, Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-05 against Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Office of UC Tax Services — Yearly Tax Highlights, Calendar Year 2026 (UC Trust Fund Solvency Measures in Effect for Calendar Year 2026) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-05 against New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Employer Accounts — Rate information, contributions, and due dates (annual rate, wage, base week, and benefit information, 2026) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-04 against California Employment Development Department — Contribution Rates, Withholding Schedules, and Meals and Lodging Values (2026) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-05 against New York State Department of Labor — Unemployment Insurance Rate Information (Current 2026 Employer Contribution Rate) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-04 against Illinois Department of Employment Security — EA-50 (11/2025): 2026 State Experience Factor and Employers' UI Contribution Rates (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-05 against Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Department of Unemployment Assistance — Employer contributions to unemployment (2026 contribution rates) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-04 against North Carolina Division of Employment Security — Tax Rate Information (New Employer Tax Rate Table; Important Information for Annual Experience Rating for 2026 Tax Rates) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-05 against Ohio Department of Job & Family Services — Contribution Rates (Ohio Unemployment Contribution Rates for Calendar Year 2023 - 2026) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-05 against Georgia Department of Labor — Employers FAQs, Unemployment Insurance (taxable wage base; new-employer rate) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-04 against Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Guidebook for Employers — Estimate Chargebacks and Tax Rates (2026 figures) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-05 against Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Unemployment Insurance Agency — Tax Rates and Liability (FAQs for Employers) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-05 against Iowa Workforce Development — Unemployment Insurance Taxes (Unemployment Insurance Tax Rate Tables; New Employers) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-04 against Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development — UI Tax Rates (Variable Taxable Wage Base; Determination of Rate Table in Effect) (effective 2026-01-01)
Verified 2026-08-05 against Arizona Department of Economic Security, Employer Engagement Administration — Unemployment Insurance Tax Rate Chart, form UIT-0603A FORNA (12/25), adjusted rates effective for calendar year 2026 (effective 2026-01-01)
Every pack above is published as open JSON at /data, with the source URL and verification date on each figure. Reuse it with attribution — we would rather be the citation than the destination.