Workers' comp · ND
North Dakota workers' comp calculator
In North Dakota there is no private insurer to deal with: Workforce Safety & Insurance writes every policy and pays every wage-loss check.
Rules read on official North Dakota pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 66.67%
- Gross average weekly wage before taxes
- Weekly maximum
- $1,614
- from July 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- $775
- or the wage, if lower
- Waiting period
- 4 days
- paid back past 4 days
Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI), the state agency that is the only workers' compensation carrier in North Dakota, pays temporary total disability at two thirds of the gross average weekly wage. For a disability that begins on or after July 1, 2026, the weekly check cannot exceed $1,614 nor fall below $775, the floor being replaced by net wages when those are lower. Those limits are 125% and 60% of the state average weekly wage, reset every July 1, and the rates in force on the first day of disability follow the claim. A worker earning $1,000 a week receives $775, and the ceiling is reached at roughly $2,421 of weekly pay. Nothing is paid for a disability shorter than 5 consecutive days. WSI adds a dependency allowance for each child, cannot be bypassed by an employer who prefers sick leave, and offsets half of any Social Security disability benefit.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in North Dakota
$775
$3,358 a month · 66.67% of the wage, tax-free
| 66.67% of $1,100 | $733 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $1,614 / $775 |
| Days paid / unpaid waiting days | 30 / 0 |
| Total for the time off | $3,321 |
Raised to the North Dakota minimum of $775 a week.
Estimate of wage-loss benefits for a total disability, from the North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI) rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
One payer for the whole state
Most Americans file a claim with their employer's insurance company. North Dakotans file with North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI), which describes itself as the sole provider and administrator of the system: it collects the premiums and decides the claims. The rules below are therefore applied by one claims staff, under Century Code chapter 65-05, with no carrier-by-carrier variation in how a wage is averaged or when a check goes out. When you disagree with a decision, the decision you contest is always a WSI decision.
A ceiling set at 125% of the state wage
The weekly maximum here is not tied to the state average weekly wage one for one, as in many states, but to five quarters of it: $1,614 for disabilities from July 1, 2026. The consequence is that high earners keep two thirds of their pay much longer than elsewhere. A Williston pipefitter earning $2,600 a week computes to $1,733, and only then hits the cap, so he receives $1,614; after five weeks off, that is $8,070. The floor works in the other direction: it guarantees $775 a week, 60% of the state average, unless the worker's net take-home pay was smaller. A part-time custodian earning $500 gross therefore receives $500 in the calculator, and less in reality if her net wages after federal tax and Social Security are under that floor. WSI also caps any weekly benefit at net wages, a limit the calculator does not reproduce.
The five-day test
Section 65-05-08 refuses wage loss for a disability shorter than 5 consecutive calendar days, and says nothing about a further waiting week. A grain elevator hand earning $1,000 who misses four days receives $0; at six days he receives $664. Your employer cannot make you burn sick leave or vacation before WSI pays, though it may let you top up the difference.
What gets added and what gets taken
Disability benefits are reduced by one-half of any Social Security disability benefit received (N.D.C.C. § 65-05-09.1). On the other side of the ledger, each child under 18 in the household, or supported under a court order, adds a dependency allowance to the check, and a worker who retires or starts Social Security retirement is presumed out of the labor market, which ends wage loss. Permanent impairment is a separate lump sum: Permanent partial impairment (PPI) awards are lump sums equal to 35% of the state average weekly wage on the date of the impairment evaluation, rounded to the next highest dollar, multiplied by a statutory multiplier tied to the impairment percentage (N.D.C.C. § 65-05-12.2). The PPI rate is $452 for evaluations from July 1, 2026.
For settlements and impairment awards in general, see how much workers’ comp pays.
The North Dakota rules this calculator applies
| Rule | North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 66.67% of gross average weekly wage before taxes |
| Weekly maximum | $1,614 |
| Weekly minimum | $775 |
| Applies to | disability on or after July 1, 2026 (rates in effect on the date of first disability apply); SAWW $1,291 |
| Waiting period | 4 days, paid back when the disability lasts more than 4 days |
| Limit on temporary total benefits | no fixed number of weeks |
Rate. Weekly benefit equal to 66 2/3% of the gross average weekly wage, subject to a minimum of 60% and a maximum of 125% of the state average weekly wage (N.D.C.C. § 65-05-09(1)); WSI states the weekly benefit also cannot exceed net wages after taxes. A dependency allowance of $15 per week per child is added (§ 65-05-08(10)). source
Waiting period. Benefits may not be paid for disability lasting less than five consecutive calendar days (N.D.C.C. § 65-05-08). Stored as a 4-day threshold: a disability of five days or more is paid from the first day, since the statute sets no separate unpaid waiting period once the threshold is met. source
Duration. No fixed week limit on temporary total disability; benefits continue during the disability, but an employee who retires or begins receiving social security retirement benefits is presumed retired from the labor market and disability benefits end (N.D.C.C. § 65-05-09.3). Temporary partial disability is limited to 5 years (WSI). source
Permanent disability. Permanent partial impairment (PPI) awards are lump sums equal to 35% of the state average weekly wage on the date of the impairment evaluation, rounded to the next highest dollar, multiplied by a statutory multiplier tied to the impairment percentage (N.D.C.C. § 65-05-12.2). The PPI rate is $452 for evaluations from July 1, 2026. source
Worth knowing in North Dakota
- North Dakota is a monopolistic state fund: WSI describes itself as the sole provider and administrator of the workers' compensation system in North Dakota. source
- Since August 1, 2009, the maximum weekly benefit equals 125% of the state average weekly wage (before that, 110%); rates are reset every July 1. source
- Disability benefits are reduced by one-half of any Social Security disability benefit received (N.D.C.C. § 65-05-09.1). source
- An employer may not require an injured employee to use sick leave or paid time off before or instead of receiving disability benefits (N.D.C.C. § 65-05-08). source
- Benefits are not paid for wage loss related to the use or presence of medical marijuana (N.D.C.C. § 65-05-08(12)). source