Guide · Clark County
How much Nevada unemployment pays in Las Vegas: weekly benefit amount and max
Your weekly check is one twenty-fifth of your highest-earning quarter, with a $16 floor and a yearly cap set by state formula.
Updated November 12, 2026 at 6:51 AM
Your weekly benefit amount is one twenty-fifth (1/25) of your total wages in the highest-paid quarter of your base period. It can't be less than $16 a week or more than the state's maximum weekly benefit amount (NRS 612.340).
File with Nevada DETR right away. Benefits aren't retroactive past your filing date, so every week you wait costs you money.
Step 1: Find your base period
Your base period is the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before your claim (NRS 612.025). It is not the quarter you just lost your job in. If you don't qualify that way but would using the last 4 completed quarters, those are used instead (NRS 612.025(2)).
Step 2: Find your highest quarter
Look at your total wages for each of the four quarters in your base period. Pick the quarter with the most wages.
Step 3: Divide by 25
Divide that highest-quarter total by 25 (NRS 612.340). Example: if your best quarter was $12,000, then $12,000 ÷ 25 = $480 a week, as long as that is under the state maximum.
Step 4: Check it against the floor and the cap
The result can't go below $16 a week. It also can't go above the maximum weekly benefit amount (NRS 612.340).
The state sets the maximum each year. By July 1, it divides the prior year's total reported wages by the average number of workers, then divides by 52 to get an average weekly wage. Half of that figure, rounded down to the nearest dollar, is the maximum (NRS 612.340(1)). Tips are left out of that calculation.
The maximum in effect on July 1 applies to anyone whose benefit year starts on or after July 1 of that year and before the next July 1 (NRS 612.340(2)). Ask DETR which maximum applies to your claim date.
Step 5: Make sure you meet the wage test
You must also meet one of two tests within your base period (NRS 612.375(1)(d)). Either your total base-period wages are at least 1 1/2 times your highest-quarter wages, or you were paid wages in at least 3 of the 4 quarters.
If you miss the 1/25 amount but qualify for $1 less than one twenty-fifth of your highest-quarter wages, your weekly amount is that $1-less figure (NRS 612.375(1)(d)).
Step 6: Keep claiming every week
Registering for work is a condition of every week you claim (NRS 612.375(1)(a)). You must also be able to work and available for work. EmployNV Career Hubs in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson offer free job search and resume help.
If DETR denies you or the amount looks wrong
You have 11 days from the mailing date on the determination letter to appeal or ask for reconsideration (NRS 612.485, 612.495). If you miss it, the determination becomes final. If the 11th day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline rolls to the next court day (NRS 612.495(3)).
Keep filing your weekly claim while you appeal, or you can't be paid for those weeks even if you win (NAC 612.110(3)). A short, signed written statement of why you disagree is enough to get a hearing (NRS 612.500(1)–(2)).
For free legal help with an unemployment appeal, contact the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada (lacsn.org, (702) 386-1070) or dial 211.
Sources: I lost my job — how to file for Nevada unemployment, NRS 612.340 - Amount of weekly benefit., NRS 612.375 - General conditions; reductions in benefits.