Jury duty pay by state: what each day pays you

Every state's juror fee on one page

The table ranks the 50 states and DC by what the first day of service pays, then gives the fifth day and a full five-day week. A week is a useful benchmark for a trial juror; many states limit service to one day or one trial, as their pages say. Where a state sets only a floor and lets counties pay more, the row says so; the fee you receive is then on your county court's juror page. The link on each state opens its page, with the statute behind the number.

Three ways states pay

A flat fee is the most common design: the same amount for every day you attend. A second group pays a token amount or nothing for the first day and a higher fee from the second, on the reasoning that one day is a civic duty and a trial is a job. A third group raises the fee only for long trials, after ten or thirty days. The federal courts combine the first and third designs: $50 from the first day and up to $60 a day once a trial juror has sat more than ten days on one case, at the judge's discretion.

The pattern changes the answer to a simple question. For one day in court, a flat-fee state pays you its daily rate while a stepped state may pay nothing. For a three-week trial, the stepped states often come out ahead. The calculator above applies the right day rate to each day you enter, so try your expected length rather than one day.

The employer matters more than the fee

For someone earning $200 a day, a five-day trial costs $1,000 of wages, and no juror fee comes close. Whether that money is lost depends on your employer. 9 jurisdictions require some employers to keep paying, usually for the first few days and sometimes only above a staff size; the employer page lists them. Elsewhere the law protects your job but not your pay, and the answer is in your company's leave policy.

Hourly and gig workers lose the most when no employer policy covers them. Self-employed people bear the whole cost; if a long trial would cause real financial hardship, ask the court to postpone or excuse you early, with proof of income, rather than on the day.

Getting paid and declaring it

Courts pay by check, direct deposit or a prepaid card, usually weeks after service; the jury office states its own schedule. Keep your attendance record: an employer that continues your pay may ask for it. Jury pay is income on your federal return, and if you had to give it to an employer who kept paying your salary, you deduct that amount; the taxes page shows the two lines of IRS Publication 525.