United States (multi-state)
Every figure on this page is calculated from the game's published rules. The operator's own odds page is linked below as verification — but the working is here, on this page.
A standard entry picks 5 numbers from 69 plus 1 from a separate pool of 26. The number of possible combinations is:
C(69, 5) = 11,238,513 × C(26, 1) = 292,201,338
| Division | Match | Winning combinations | Derived odds | Probability | Prize | Operator says |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 5 + Powerball | 5 main + 1 Powerball | 1 | 1 in 292,201,338 | 3.422e-9 | Jackpot (annuity or lump sum), rolls until won | 1 in 292,201,338 |
| Match 5 | 5 main + 0 Powerball | 25 | 1 in 11,688,054 | 8.556e-8 | $1 million fixed (pari-mutuel in California) | 1 in 11,688,054 |
| Match 4 + Powerball | 4 main + 1 Powerball | 320 | 1 in 913,129 | 1.095e-6 | $50,000 fixed | 1 in 913,129 |
| Match 4 | 4 main + 0 Powerball | 8,000 | 1 in 36,525 | 2.738e-5 | $100 fixed | 1 in 36,525 |
| Match 3 + Powerball | 3 main + 1 Powerball | 20,160 | 1 in 14,494 | 6.899e-5 | $100 fixed | 1 in 14,494 |
| Match 3 | 3 main + 0 Powerball | 504,000 | 1 in 580 | 0.1725% | $7 fixed | 1 in 580 |
| Match 2 + Powerball | 2 main + 1 Powerball | 416,640 | 1 in 701 | 0.1426% | $7 fixed | 1 in 701 |
| Match 1 + Powerball | 1 main + 1 Powerball | 3,176,880 | 1 in 91.98 | 1.09% | $4 fixed | 1 in 92 |
| Powerball only | 0 main + 1 Powerball | 7,624,512 | 1 in 38.32 | 2.61% | $4 fixed | 1 in 38 |
"Winning combinations" counts how many of the possible outcomes land in that division. "Operator says" is the operator's published figure — shown so you can check us against them (small differences are their rounding).
Odds of winning any prize
1 in 24.87
Sum of all division probabilities — usually the number the ads quote.
Odds of the top prize
1 in 292,201,338
One standard game. Two games doubles it — and it's still tiny.
How long are these odds? Winning the top prize is about as likely as calling 28.1 coin flips in a row correctly (228.1 ≈ 292,201,338). If you bought one line every draw, at two draws a week you would expect one top-prize win roughly every 2,809,628 years.
Last verified: 2026-08-29