We ran the exact same hypothetical family through all 51 official state child support formulas (50 states + DC) — using each jurisdiction's own cited statute, published schedule table, and the same calculation engine that powers this site's 51 individual state calculators. The guideline amount for the identical family ranged from $15/month to $846/month, a more than 56x spread, for numbers that never changed.
The scenario (held constant across every state)
- 2 children
- Custodial parent (Parent A): $4,000/month income
- Paying parent (Parent B): $3,000/month income
- Paying parent has 65 of 365 overnights/year (roughly a standard every-other-weekend-plus schedule)
- No childcare or health insurance add-ons
Every state calculator on this site uses the same field for either gross or net income depending on that state's own statute — this scenario feeds the same $4,000/$3,000 figures into whichever field each formula calls for, exactly as a user would when comparing states side by side on our state comparison tool.
Full ranking — all 51 jurisdictions
| Rank | State | Guideline Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | $846 |
| 2 | Illinois | $844 |
| 3 | Michigan | $837 |
| 4 | Iowa | $829 |
| 5 | California | $826 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | $820 |
| 7 | Vermont | $813 |
| 8 | Alaska | $810 |
| 9 | Florida | $808 |
| 10 | Wyoming | $806 |
| 11 | Kansas | $764 |
| 12 | Texas | $750 |
| 13 | New York | $750 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | $750 |
| 15 | Louisiana | $735 |
| 16 | New Hampshire | $726 |
| 17 | Rhode Island | $714 |
| 18 | North Carolina | $692 |
| 19 | South Dakota | $689 |
| 20 | Virginia | $686 |
| 21 | Maryland | $684 |
| 22 | Nevada | $660 |
| 23 | New Mexico | $636 |
| 24 | Missouri | $628 |
| 25 | Nebraska | $616 |
| 26 | Delaware | $611 |
| 27 | South Carolina | $609 |
| 28 | Massachusetts | $606 |
| 29 | Colorado | $605 |
| 30 | Idaho | $601 |
| 31 | Mississippi | $600 |
| 32 | West Virginia | $592 |
| 33 | Hawaii | $581 |
| 34 | Kentucky | $560 |
| 35 | Tennessee | $547 |
| 36 | Arizona | $546 |
| 37 | Arkansas | $546 |
| 38 | Alabama | $536 |
| 39 | Montana | $512 |
| 40 | Oklahoma | $511 |
| 41 | Oregon | $458 |
| 42 | Washington | $375 |
| 43 | Indiana | $371 |
| 44 | Utah | $364 |
| 45 | New Jersey | $308 |
| 46 | Connecticut | $303 |
| 47 | District of Columbia | $75 |
| 48 | Ohio | $72 |
| 49 | Maine | $52 |
| 50 | Georgia | $35 |
| 51 | Minnesota | $15 |
12 states not shown separately above with the exact same schedule model can still tie on the rounded dollar amount (e.g. Texas/New York/Wisconsin all land at $750 despite using three different formula models) — coincidence at this specific income level, not evidence the formulas are actually the same.
Why the gap is so wide
The top of the ranking (North Dakota, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, California) all land near $810-$846/month — different formulas, similar result at this income level. The bottom of the ranking is where things get interesting: Minnesota ($15), Georgia ($35), Maine ($52), Ohio ($72), and DC ($75) all compute dramatically lower amounts for the identical family. That's not a bug in the math — each of those states has a self-support-reserve or parenting-time cross-formula that, specifically at $3,000/month income and 65 overnights/year, produces a smaller individual-income-based number instead of the larger combined-income prorated number. Ohio's mechanism (JFS 07768 worksheet) and Minnesota's Self-Support Reserve (Minn. Stat. § 518A.42) are both built to stop a lower-income paying parent's own living costs from being crowded out — verified against each state's own statute, see each state calculator page for the exact citation.
FAQ
Why does the same family owe such different amounts by state?
Each state writes its own child support formula, and they differ in real, substantive ways — not just the numbers plugged in. Some use an "income shares" model that combines both parents' incomes and prorates a schedule amount; others (Texas, Mississippi, Alaska) apply a flat percentage of just the paying parent's income; a handful use fundamentally different math entirely (California's algebraic formula, Delaware/Hawaii/Montana's Melson formula, Michigan's own equation). The parenting-time adjustment method varies just as much, and that's often what drives the biggest gaps.
Why are some states' results so much lower than others at this income level?
The lowest results in this dataset (Minnesota, Georgia, Maine, Ohio, District of Columbia) come from states whose formulas include a self-support-reserve or parenting-time cross-formula that, at this specific income and overnight split, computes a small individual-income-based figure instead of the larger prorated combined-income figure. This is not a calculation error — it reflects a real statutory mechanism designed to protect a paying parent's own basic living costs at lower income levels, verified against each state's cited statute.
Is this exactly what I would owe in my state?
No — this uses one standardized scenario to make an apples-to-apples comparison across states. Your actual result depends on your real income, number of children, exact overnights, and add-on costs. Use your state's own calculator on this site for a figure based on your numbers.