“If I Make $1,000 a Week, How Much Child Support Will I Pay?”
It is the most-asked child support question, and most answers online are wrong — because they give one number when the real answer depends on which of three systems your state uses.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
Why There Is No Single Answer
American child support is not one formula but three, and which one applies decides how much your income alone tells you. Across the 51 US jurisdictions: 40 use the Income Shares model, where both parents' incomes are combined and each pays a proportional share — meaning your income alone cannot answer the question. 7 use Percentage of Income, where a flat percentage of the paying parent's income applies and the other parent's earnings are largely irrelevant. 4 use more complex formulas that fold in tax treatment, parenting time and other factors. So the first thing to establish is not your income — it is your state's model.
Case Details
Every figure on this page comes from the guideline in each state's statute, and each of our 51 state pages cites the specific provision. Guidelines are rebuttable presumptions, not fixed rules: a court can deviate for documented reasons — extraordinary medical needs, a child with disabilities, unusually high or low income, or a parenting-time split that departs from the assumptions built into the schedule.
The Straightforward Case: Percentage States
Working Through $1,000 a Week
Take $1,000 a week — about $4,333 a month. In Texas, that figure first has to be converted to net resources (income after taxes and certain deductions, not gross pay). Suppose that leaves roughly $3,500 monthly: one child at 20% is about $700 a month, two children at 25% about $875. In Wisconsin at 17% of gross for one child, the same $4,333 gross produces roughly $737. In an income shares state — most of the country — that same $1,000 a week produces no answer at all without the other parent's income: if they earn nothing, your share of the combined obligation is 100%; if they earn the same as you, it is roughly half, before adjustments for parenting time, health insurance and childcare. This is why identical incomes produce wildly different orders across state lines.
What Changes the Number
How to Get a Reliable Number
- 1
1. Identify your state's model
Percentage of income, income shares, or a complex formula. This single fact determines whether your income alone can answer the question.
- 2
2. Establish the correct income figure
Gross or net, monthly or annual, and which deductions count — all state-specific. Using the wrong basis is the most common source of wrong estimates online.
- 3
3. Add the other parent's income (in 40 states)
In income shares states this is not optional — the calculation cannot be performed without it.
- 4
4. Apply the adjustments
Parenting time, health insurance, childcare, other dependents. These routinely change the result by a meaningful margin.
- 5
5. Check the official state calculator
Most states publish one, and it is the closest thing to authoritative short of a court order. Our state pages link to each. An estimate is still an estimate — the court sets the order.
Where Online Answers Go Wrong
The reason the same question gets fifty different answers online is that most sources skip a step.
One national number
There is no national child support percentage. Any source giving one figure for the whole country is ignoring that 40 states do not work that way at all.
Gross and net used interchangeably
Some states apply their percentage to gross income and some to net. Mixing them up changes the answer by roughly a fifth — and it is the single most common error in online estimates.
Ignoring parenting time
In most states, overnights materially change the obligation. A calculator that never asks about the schedule is giving you a number that will not resemble your order.
Child Support by Income FAQs
If I make $1,000 a week, how much child support will I pay?
In a percentage state such as Texas, roughly $700 a month for one child (20% of net resources, on the assumptions above). In the 40 income shares states, the question cannot be answered without the other parent's income. Start by identifying which model your state uses.
If I make $60,000 a year, how much child support?
That is $5,000 a month gross. In Texas, after converting to net resources, one child at 20% lands somewhere around $800 a month; in Wisconsin at 17% of gross, roughly $850. In income shares states, it depends entirely on what the other parent earns and how parenting time is divided.
Which states use a flat percentage?
Seven jurisdictions use percentage of income, including Texas (20% for one child), Alaska (20%), Wisconsin (17%), Nevada (16%) and Mississippi (14%). The other 44 use income shares or a more complex formula.
Does the other parent's income matter?
In 40 states, decisively — income shares combines both incomes and allocates proportionally. In percentage states it is largely irrelevant to the base calculation. This is the biggest single difference between the systems.
Does having the children more often reduce what I pay?
In most states yes, though the mechanism varies — some apply a credit above a threshold number of overnights, others recalculate entirely under a shared-parenting formula. A handful barely adjust at all.
Is the guideline number binding?
It is a rebuttable presumption. Courts can and do deviate for documented reasons — extraordinary medical needs, very high or very low income, or circumstances the schedule does not anticipate. The guideline is the starting point, not the ceiling or floor.
What if my income changes?
Orders can generally be modified when there is a substantial change in circumstances, but the change is rarely automatic — in most states you must file for modification, and the old amount keeps accruing until you do.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.