Crime victim compensation by state usually tops out between $25,000 and $50,000 per victim. California's program pays up to $70,000, Hawaii's limit is generally $10,000, and Texas and West Virginia allow large extra amounts for catastrophic or disabling injuries. This crime victim compensation calculator applies the overall limit, the category limits (such as funeral caps) and the rule that insurance and other payments come first, for 27 states and the District of Columbia, using each state's statute or official program page.
State programs mainly pay out-of-pocket losses: medical bills, counseling, lost wages, loss of support and funeral costs when a crime causes injury or death, including drunk driving and domestic violence. Most do not pay for pain and suffering.
Award = eligible expenses after category limits, minus insurance and other payments, up to the state maximum
Programs are generally a payer of last resort. California's board, for example, pays only for expenses that aren't reimbursed by any other source, and applicants must seek payment first from health insurance, public benefits, auto insurance, workers' compensation, restitution and civil lawsuit recoveries. Federal law adds that when a federal program would otherwise pay a cost, the state compensation program shall not pay it. The calculator therefore subtracts what insurance or other sources already paid, applies the state's category limits, and then applies the overall maximum.
| State | Maximum award | Other limits in the cited law |
|---|---|---|
| California | $70,000 | $63,000 for applications filed from Jan. 1, 2001 to Jan. 1, 2017; funeral and relocation also capped |
| Connecticut | $15,000 injury; $25,000 homicide | Up to $5,000 more for a minor with added medical or counseling needs; more for compelling equitable circumstances |
| Delaware | $25,000 | $50,000 if permanently and totally disabled |
| District of Columbia | $25,000 per victimization | Up to $5,000 more per child, from the third child, for a primary caregiver |
| Florida | $25,000 | $50,000 with a written catastrophic injury finding |
| Hawaii | $10,000 | Up to $20,000, or actual medical costs if lower, when medical expenses exceed $10,000 |
| Idaho | $25,000 | Funeral $5,000; wage benefit 66 2/3% of wages, up to $175 a week |
| Illinois | $45,000 per victim | Crimes on or after Aug. 7, 2022 |
| Iowa | No single overall cap | Medical $25,000; victim's lost income $6,000; funeral $7,500; loss of support $4,000 per dependent |
| Kansas | $25,000 | Victim and all other claimants combined |
| Maryland | $45,000 | Disability or dependency claims $25,000, plus up to $25,000 for permanent total disability; funeral $10,000 |
| Massachusetts | $25,000 | $50,000 for catastrophic injury; funeral and burial $13,000 |
| Michigan | $45,000 per claimant | Funeral $8,000, plus $500 for a grave marker |
| Minnesota | $50,000 | All claimants for one victim |
| Missouri | $25,000 | Funeral $5,000; lost earnings or support $400 a week |
| Montana | $25,000 | Funeral and burial $10,000 |
| Nebraska | $25,000 per applicant per incident | Paid in installments unless decided otherwise |
| New Hampshire | $50,000 per claimant per incident | At least $100 in expenses required |
| New York | No single overall cap listed | Lost earnings or loss of support $30,000; funeral $12,000 |
| North Carolina | $45,000 | Plus funeral, cremation and burial up to $10,000 |
| North Dakota | $25,000 | Funeral $5,000 |
| Ohio | $50,000 | Victim and all other claimants combined |
| Oregon | $47,000 | Medical $20,000; lost earnings or support $20,000; funeral $5,000 plus a discretionary amount |
| South Carolina | $15,000 | $25,000 in extraordinary circumstances |
| Texas | $50,000 | Up to $75,000 more for catastrophic injury with total and permanent disability |
| Virginia | $35,000 | Funeral or burial $10,000 |
| West Virginia | $35,000 injury; $50,000 death | Up to $100,000 more for special needs if disabled under the Social Security definition |
| Wisconsin | $40,000 | Funeral and burial $5,000; generally no award for expenses incurred after 4 years |
Other states also run compensation programs; they are not listed here because we could not confirm their current limits in an official source. Check your state's program page for its limits.
To receive federal Victims of Crime Act grants, a state program must offer compensation to victims and survivors of victims of criminal violence, including drunk driving and domestic violence, for medical expenses (including mental health counseling and care), lost wages and funeral expenses. The federal grant is set at 75 percent of the amounts the state program awarded in the preceding fiscal year, other than property damage. Many states go further. California, for example, pays income loss for up to five years if the crime disabled the victim, and support loss for dependents of a victim who is injured or dies.
Most programs do not pay for pain and suffering. Connecticut's law bars awards for noneconomic detriment such as pain and suffering, and Montana's says benefits are not payable for pain and suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment or nonbodily damage. Hawaii is an exception: its law lets the commission order compensation for pain and suffering to the victim, within the overall limit. For those damages, a civil claim against the offender or a negligent property owner is the usual route; see our guides to negligent security assault settlements and road rage accident settlements.
Because programs pay last, what you collect elsewhere matters. New Hampshire's law says that if expenses paid by its fund are later covered by insurance settlements, civil suit settlements or restitution, the claimant shall reimburse the fund for the amount recovered. North Dakota's program is subrogated to the claimant's rights to recover from collateral sources for the losses it paid. If you settle an injury or death claim after receiving compensation, expect the program to ask for repayment, much like a medical lien. Our net settlement after fees and liens calculator shows how that affects what you keep. For a crash where the driver fled, see hit-and-run victim compensation; for impaired drivers, the drunk driving accident settlement calculator.
Federal law says compensation received through an eligible program shall not be included in the income, resources or assets of the applicant for programs using federal funds that provide medical or other assistance. Nor shall it reduce that assistance, unless all such programs together fully compensate the applicant for the losses from the crime.
Most states cap awards between $25,000 and $50,000. Among the states in our table, California has the highest regular limit at $70,000 and Hawaii the lowest at $10,000, while Iowa and New York list category limits instead of one overall maximum.
Usually not. Most programs pay out-of-pocket losses such as medical bills, counseling, lost wages, loss of support and funeral costs, and Connecticut's and Montana's laws expressly exclude pain and suffering. Hawaii is an exception: its law allows compensation for pain and suffering to the victim, within the overall limit.
Yes. Programs are payers of last resort, so amounts paid by insurance, workers' compensation, restitution or a lawsuit are subtracted before the state limit is applied.
Often, yes. New Hampshire, for example, requires claimants to reimburse its fund when insurance settlements, civil suit settlements or restitution later cover the same expenses.
Under federal law, compensation from an eligible state program is not counted as income, resources or assets for federally funded programs that provide medical or other assistance.
$50,000 in the aggregate, plus up to $75,000 more for extraordinary losses when a catastrophic injury causes total and permanent disability.