Alimony & Spousal Support by State
Only a handful of states publish a formula for spousal support. Some cap the amount without publishing a formula, and most publish a factor checklist and no number at all. Pick your state to see which of the three it is, run whatever math it does publish, and read the factors a court actually weighs.
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Estimate only — not legal advice. This is the published math for alimony & spousal support by state, shown as a range. Your actual outcome depends on facts, evidence, and decisions this page cannot see.
Three kinds of state, and yours is one of them
This is the question to settle before looking at any number. Most states publish no formula for spousal support at all, which means most alimony calculators on the internet are applying a guideline to states that never adopted one.
Statutory formula
The statute computes a guideline amount from both incomes. It is presumptive rather than binding — a court can depart from it, and says why when it does.
Statutory factors — no formula
No formula for the amount. The statute lists factors and the court decides. Some of these states still cap the amount or limit the duration, and where they do, the page shows that ceiling as a ceiling.
Spousal support rarely stands alone. Run your state’s child support guideline beside it — in New York the child-support arrangement decides which maintenance formula applies — and build the schedule that feeds it with the custody planner. (Alimony & Spousal Support by State)
Source of record
Courts retain discretion — guideline results can be adjusted or deviated from. This is the published guideline math, not a prediction of your order.
🎓 Understand this tool
What it is
A state-by-state answer to a question most alimony calculators skip: does your state publish a formula for spousal support at all? A few do. Some publish no formula but cap the amount by statute. Most publish a list of factors and no number whatsoever, and this tool says so rather than borrowing a guideline from somewhere else.
How it works
Each state page is driven by a rule pack transcribed from that state’s own statute, and the pack records which of three kinds the state is. A formula state — Illinois and New York among the few — computes a guideline amount from both incomes, usually a share of the payor’s income less a share of the payee’s, then limits the result so the payee does not end up above a set share of the parties’ combined income. New York applies its formula only to the payor’s income up to a cap the Unified Court System republishes every two years, and switches between two formulas depending on whether the payor is also the non-custodial parent paying child support. A cap state publishes no formula but does set a ceiling: Texas at the lesser of $5,000 a month or twenty per cent of the obligor’s average monthly gross income, Florida at thirty-five per cent of the difference between the parties’ net incomes or the obligee’s reasonable need, whichever is less. A factors state publishes neither, and the page shows the statutory checklist instead.
Getting the most from it
- Start with the badge at the top of your state’s page. It tells you which of the three kinds you are in before any figure appears.
- Enter annual incomes on the basis the page names — gross or net differs by state, and using the wrong one produces a confident answer to the wrong question.
- Enter the length of the marriage. Every state that publishes anything about duration keys it to this.
- Read the factors. In most states they are the entire answer, and they are what a lawyer will ask you about first.
Reading your result
A guideline figure is presumptive, not an order — a court can depart from it and explains why when it does. A ceiling is something else again: it is the most the statute permits, so an award at the ceiling is the exception rather than the expectation, and many spouses are not eligible for any award at all. Where the page shows no number, that is the finding, not a gap in the data.
What it can't tell you
This does not predict what a court will order, does not decide whether you are eligible, and does not account for property division, tax treatment, or the conduct-based provisions several states attach to spousal support. It cannot weigh factors — that is the judicial act itself. Temporary support during a case often runs on entirely different local rules than the post-divorce figures shown here. A family lawyer licensed in your state is the person who answers your question.
Frequently asked questions
Because most states publish no formula for the amount of spousal support — the statute lists factors and the court decides. Where that is true, the honest output is the factor list and whatever ceiling or duration limit the statute does set. A site that shows you a dollar figure for one of those states has applied a guideline the state never adopted.
Related calculators
Custody Planner
Build a parenting schedule from the standard rotations courts see most — 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5, 3-4-4-3, week-on-week-off, or every other weekend — then count the overnights exactly. The percentage carries straight into your state’s child support calculator, and the calendar exports and prints.
Child Support
Every state sets child support with a published guideline formula — income shares, percentage of income, or the Melson formula. Pick your state to run its own math step by step, see which figures the statute actually uses, and open the official worksheet it comes from.
Change alerts — when a state revises the guideline or deadline behind this page
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