How does GS locality pay work?

Federal General Schedule salaries start from a nationwide base table, then add a locality adjustment for your duty-station area — from 17.06% (Rest of U.S.) up to 46.34% in the highest-cost areas in 2026. There are 58 locality pay areas. Locality pay is capped at the Executive Schedule Level IV rate.

Which GS locality area has the highest pay?

In 2026, the highest locality adjustment is 46.34% in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland area, followed by other high-cost metros. The "Rest of U.S." area, which covers everywhere not in a defined locality, adds 17.06%.

2026 GS Pay Scale by Locality

Federal pay is the nationwide General Schedule base plus a locality adjustment for where you work. Pick your area for the full 2026 salary table by grade and step, or browse by grade below.

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Sources: OPM — 2026 GS + locality tables, Interactive GS pay calculator

Browse by locality area (58)

San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland+46.34%New York-Newark+37.95%Los Angeles-Long Beach+36.47%Houston-The Woodlands+35%Washington-Baltimore-Arlington+33.94%San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad+33.72%Boston-Worcester-Providence+32.58%State of Alaska+32.36%Hartford-East Hartford+32.08%Seattle-Tacoma+31.57%Chicago-Naperville+30.86%Denver-Aurora+30.52%Sacramento-Roseville+29.76%Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor+29.12%Philadelphia-Reading-Camden+28.99%Minneapolis-St. Paul+27.62%Dallas-Fort Worth+27.26%Portland-Vancouver-Salem+26.13%Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale+24.67%Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs+23.79%Phoenix-Mesa+22.45%Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha+22.42%Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean+22.41%Richmond+22.28%Raleigh-Durham-Cary+22.24%Cleveland-Akron-Canton+22.23%State of Hawaii+22.21%Columbus-Marion-Zanesville+22.15%Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville+21.93%Huntsville-Decatur+21.91%Laredo+21.59%Dayton-Springfield-Kettering+21.42%Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton+21.03%Albany-Schenectady+20.77%Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown+20.35%Colorado Springs+20.15%St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington+20.03%Charlotte-Concord+19.67%Las Vegas-Henderson+19.57%Burlington-South Burlington-Barre+19.45%Harrisburg-Lebanon+19.43%Tucson-Nogales+19.28%Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City+18.97%Davenport-Moline+18.93%Virginia Beach-Norfolk+18.8%San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall+18.78%Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas+18.33%Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega+18.24%Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont+18.23%Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie+18.15%Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines+18.01%Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville+17.93%Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls+17.88%Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene+17.67%Fresno-Madera-Hanford+17.65%Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice+17.63%Reno-Fernley+17.52%Rest of U.S.+17.06%

Or browse by grade

GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 GS-5 GS-6 GS-7 GS-8 GS-9 GS-10 GS-11 GS-12 GS-13 GS-14 GS-15

Want a specific grade, step, and area at once? Use the interactive GS pay calculator. Figuring out which grade fits you? See military rank → GS grade and the step-increase schedule.

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