Child Support Calculator by State
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.
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Estimate only — not legal advice. This is the published math for child support calculator by state, shown as a range. Your actual outcome depends on facts, evidence, and decisions this page cannot see.
Which model your state uses
Every state computes support from a published formula, but they do not all use the same one. The model determines which numbers matter — a percentage-of-income state, for instance, does not use the receiving parent's income at all.
Parenting time changes the math in many states. Count your overnights first, then bring the number into your state's calculator. (Child Support Calculator 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 child support calculator runs your state’s published guideline formula on the income figures its statute counts, and shows the arithmetic. It reports what the guideline produces — not what a court will order, and not what either parent can afford.
How it works
States use one of three published models. Income shares, used by most states, estimates what both parents together would have spent on the child at their combined income, then splits that amount in proportion to each parent’s income. Percentage of income, used by Texas among others, applies a fixed percentage to the paying parent’s income and does not look at the other parent’s income at all. The Melson formula, used in Delaware, Hawaii and Montana, first reserves a self-support allowance for each parent, then covers the children’s primary needs, then adds a standard-of-living adjustment from whatever remains. Each state page names its model and links the worksheet the state publishes.
Getting the most from it
- Pick your state — the model, the income definition, and the treatment of parenting time all change with it.
- Enter income the way that state defines it. Texas counts “net resources”; California uses “net disposable income”; others use gross. The page tells you which.
- Enter overnights if your state adjusts for parenting time. The custody planner counts them exactly if you are not sure.
- Open the state’s own calculator from the source box and run the same numbers there. If the two disagree, the state’s answer is the one that matters.
Reading your result
The figure is a guideline amount: the formula’s output for the numbers you typed. Treat it as the point a court starts from, not the point it lands on. Every state’s statute lists reasons a judge may order something different, and the amount also moves when the underlying income figures are established differently in court than you estimated them here.
What it can't tell you
This cannot tell you what a judge will do, whether a deviation applies to your situation, how income should be imputed to someone unemployed or self-employed, or how support interacts with custody, filing status or arrears. It cannot see the facts a court would weigh. For any of that, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state.
Frequently asked questions
Every state publishes a guideline formula and applies it to the income figures its statute defines. Most states use an income shares model, which estimates what both parents would have spent on the child together and divides it in proportion to their incomes. A handful, including Texas, take a set percentage of the paying parent’s income instead. Delaware, Hawaii and Montana use the Melson formula, which reserves a self-support allowance first.
Change alerts — when a state revises the guideline or deadline behind this page
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