2026 editionEffective January 202658 locality pay areasData last changed 2026-08-25
2026 GS pay scale, ranked by what the salary actually buys
All 58 locality pay areas, checked cell by cell against the official OPM tables.
What does your grade and step pay?
GS-12, step 5 in Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA
$116,071
Of the 57 areas with a published price level: #5 on the payslip, #34 once local prices are counted.
Starting your first federal job? A first appointment is set at step 1 of the grade unless the agency uses the superior qualifications authority (5 U.S.C. 5333; 5 CFR 531.212). The step above defaults to 5, the middle of the grade, because that is the cell this site ranks every area by.
Gross pay from the published federal tables. Not take-home: deductions depend on choices this page does not ask about. New to federal service? A first appointment is almost always step 1 — the default here is step 5, the middle of the grade.
The highest-paying area is not the one where you end up richest
At GS-12 step 5 the biggest paycheck in the General Schedule is written in San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA. The salary that goes furthest belongs to Laredo, TX, and the gap between them is $11,484 a year.
Biggest paycheck, and what it buys
$109,691San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA pays $126,817, the most in the country. Local prices stand at 115.6 against a national average of 100, which is what the salary comes down to.Goes furthest, and what it pays
$121,175Laredo, TX pays $105,369 — $21,448 less on paper, and $11,484 more once prices are counted.Locality pay is calculated from what private employers in the same region pay for comparable work. It is not a cost-of-living adjustment, and OPM says so plainly. The two are related, but not the same thing, and the gap between them is large enough to turn the ranking upside down.
That is what the table below measures, and it is the one thing no other reference site publishes. Every other column comes straight from the official table; the last two are ours.
All 58 locality pay areas, ranked by what the salary buys
Dollar figures are a GS-12, step 5 — the middle of the schedule, used here so that every area is compared on the same cell. Change the grade above and the table follows. Click any column heading to sort by it.
| 1 | Laredo, TXLaredo, TX | 21.59% | $105,369 | 87.0 | $121,175 | +30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Huntsville, ALHuntsville-Decatur, AL-TN | 21.91% | $105,646 | 87.2 | $121,137 | +28 |
| 3 | Houston, TXHouston-The Woodlands, TX | 35% | $116,990 | 98.6 | $118,616 | +1 |
| 4 | St. Louis, MOSt. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL | 20.03% | $104,017 | 87.7 | $118,596 | +33 |
| 5 | Columbus, OHColumbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH | 22.15% | $105,854 | 89.3 | $118,543 | +23 |
| 6 | Davenport, IADavenport-Moline, IA-IL | 18.93% | $103,064 | 89.1 | $115,700 | +38 |
| 7 | Atlanta, GAAtlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL | 23.79% | $107,275 | 93.3 | $114,926 | +13 |
| 8 | Dayton, OHDayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH | 21.42% | $105,221 | 92.7 | $113,514 | +24 |
| 9 | Cleveland, OHCleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA | 22.23% | $105,923 | 93.4 | $113,444 | +17 |
| 10 | Rochester, NYRochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY | 17.88% | $102,154 | 90.8 | $112,478 | +43 |
| 11 | AlaskaState of Alaska | 32.36% | $114,702 | 102.4 | $112,059 | −3 |
| 12 | Birmingham, ALBirmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL | 18.24% | $102,466 | 91.6 | $111,809 | +36 |
| 13 | Detroit, MIDetroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI | 29.12% | $111,894 | 100.3 | $111,562 | +1 |
| 14 | Des Moines, IADes Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA | 18.01% | $102,266 | 91.7 | $111,521 | +37 |
| 15 | Omaha, NEOmaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA | 18.23% | $102,457 | 91.9 | $111,474 | +34 |
| 16 | Kansas City, MOKansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS | 18.97% | $103,098 | 92.5 | $111,406 | +27 |
| 17 | Hartford, CTHartford-East Hartford, CT-MA | 32.08% | $114,459 | 102.7 | $111,400 | −8 |
| 18 | Cincinnati, OHCincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN | 21.93% | $105,663 | 95.4 | $110,793 | +11 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh, PAPittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV | 21.03% | $104,883 | 94.7 | $110,787 | +14 |
| 20 | Buffalo, NYBuffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY | 22.41% | $106,079 | 95.8 | $110,679 | +3 |
| 21 | Corpus Christi, TXCorpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX | 17.63% | $101,937 | 92.7 | $109,999 | +35 |
| 22 | San Jose, CASan Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA | 46.34% | $126,817 | 115.6 | $109,691 | −21 |
| 23 | Chicago, ILChicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI | 30.86% | $113,402 | 103.6 | $109,467 | −12 |
| 24 | Milwaukee, WIMilwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI | 22.42% | $106,088 | 96.9 | $109,440 | −2 |
| 25 | Philadelphia, PAPhiladelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 28.99% | $111,781 | 102.6 | $108,997 | −10 |
| 26 | San Antonio, TXSan Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX | 18.78% | $102,934 | 94.7 | $108,676 | +20 |
| 27 | Richmond, VARichmond, VA | 22.28% | $105,967 | 97.9 | $108,286 | −3 |
| 28 | Raleigh, NCRaleigh-Durham-Cary, NC | 22.24% | $105,932 | 98.2 | $107,921 | −3 |
| 29 | Albuquerque, NMAlbuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM | 18.33% | $102,544 | 95.5 | $107,324 | +18 |
| 30 | Indianapolis, INIndianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN | 18.15% | $102,388 | 95.7 | $106,993 | +20 |
| 31 | Dallas, TXDallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK | 27.26% | $110,282 | 103.1 | $106,976 | −14 |
| 32 | Denver, CODenver-Aurora, CO | 30.52% | $113,107 | 105.8 | $106,925 | −20 |
| 33 | Tucson, AZTucson-Nogales, AZ | 19.28% | $103,367 | 96.9 | $106,678 | +9 |
| 34 | Washington, DCWashington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA | 33.94% | $116,071 | 108.9 | $106,601 | −29 |
| 35 | Charlotte, NCCharlotte-Concord, NC-SC | 19.67% | $103,705 | 97.3 | $106,530 | +3 |
| 36 | Austin, TXAustin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | 20.35% | $104,294 | 98.1 | $106,351 | −1 |
| 37 | New York, NYNew York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA | 37.95% | $119,546 | 112.6 | $106,204 | −35 |
| 38 | Boston, MABoston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT | 32.58% | $114,893 | 108.3 | $106,121 | −31 |
| 39 | Minneapolis, MNMinneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI | 27.62% | $110,594 | 104.8 | $105,506 | −23 |
| 40 | Sacramento, CASacramento-Roseville, CA-NV | 29.76% | $112,449 | 106.7 | $105,418 | −27 |
| 41 | Virginia Beach, VAVirginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC | 18.8% | $102,951 | 97.9 | $105,115 | +4 |
| 42 | Albany, NYAlbany-Schenectady, NY-MA | 20.77% | $104,658 | 99.6 | $105,114 | −8 |
| 43 | Harrisburg, PAHarrisburg-Lebanon, PA | 19.43% | $103,497 | 98.7 | $104,913 | −2 |
| 44 | Los Angeles, CALos Angeles-Long Beach, CA | 36.47% | $118,264 | 113.6 | $104,137 | −41 |
| 45 | Portland, ORPortland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA | 26.13% | $109,303 | 105.4 | $103,682 | −27 |
| 46 | San Diego, CASan Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 33.72% | $115,880 | 111.9 | $103,569 | −40 |
| 47 | Las Vegas, NVLas Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ | 19.57% | $103,618 | 100.2 | $103,396 | −8 |
| 48 | Colorado Springs, COColorado Springs, CO | 20.15% | $104,121 | 100.7 | $103,390 | −12 |
| 49 | Phoenix, AZPhoenix-Mesa, AZ | 22.45% | $106,114 | 103.3 | $102,708 | −28 |
| 50 | Seattle, WASeattle-Tacoma, WA | 31.57% | $114,017 | 111.1 | $102,595 | −40 |
| 51 | Burlington, VTBurlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT | 19.45% | $103,514 | 100.9 | $102,541 | −11 |
| 52 | Palm Bay, FLPalm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | 17.93% | $102,197 | 100.0 | $102,192 | — |
| 53 | Spokane, WASpokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID | 17.67% | $101,972 | 100.3 | $101,620 | +1 |
| 54 | Reno, NVReno-Fernley, NV | 17.52% | $101,842 | 101.0 | $100,820 | +3 |
| 55 | Fresno, CAFresno-Madera-Hanford, CA | 17.65% | $101,954 | 102.2 | $99,800 | — |
| 56 | HawaiiState of Hawaii | 22.21% | $105,906 | 110.0 | $96,321 | −29 |
| 57 | Miami, FLMiami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL | 24.67% | $108,038 | 114.2 | $94,641 | −38 |
| — | Rest of U.S.Rest of U.S. | 17.06% | $101,443 | — | — | — |
Reading this table
Sorted by purchasing power. The price column is the BEA Regional Price Parity for 2024, where 100 is the national average — below 100 is cheaper.Rank shift: how many places the area moves when you stop ranking by the paycheck and start ranking by what it buys. The first column is that same purchasing-power rank, so it stays with its area when you sort by something else.
Or start from a grade
Each grade page shows that grade in every area at once — the comparison people actually need when weighing a move. Figures below are base rates, before any locality adjustment.
There are also side-by-side comparisons of the highest-paying areas against each other and against Rest of U.S., a page for every promotion from one grade to the next, and a full calculator that will find your area from a ZIP code.
Where these numbers come from
Every rate on this site was recomputed from the published base table and the locality percentage, then checked against the official OPM figure. All 8,700 cells match to the dollar.
Salary tables and locality percentages: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2026 General Schedule salary tables. Locality pay area definitions: OPM, 2026. Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, 2024, shown to one decimal place though computed from the published three. ZIP-code-to-county relationships: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA file. All are works of the United States government and in the public domain.
The order of operations matters and is fixed by law: the percentage is applied to the base rate, the result is rounded, and only then is it checked against the statutory ceiling. Doing those steps in a different order changes the answer at the top of the schedule, which is one reason published figures sometimes disagree between reference sites. How locality pay works sets out the rules in full.