GS pay scale 2026
Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Albany, NY GS pay scale 2026: 20.77% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $104,658 with 20.77% locality pay; local prices are within 2% of the national average, so at U.S. prices it is worth close to that, $105,114.

#34 on paper, #42 after prices

−8Places lost, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$105,114BEA price level 99.6, for Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY.

Ceiling watch

1 of 150GS-15 step 10 is held to $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +6.28 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 53.50%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 46.19%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 7,766
Share of all jobs here: 1.22%
Largest county by federal jobs: Albany County, NY: 5,283

Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

A yearAn hourEvery two weeks

▲ marks the one cell cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	27,275	28,189	29,096	29,999	30,904	31,434	32,331	33,235	33,272	34,115
GS-2	30,667	31,397	32,413	33,272	33,644	34,633	35,622	36,611	37,601	38,590
GS-3	33,463	34,579	35,695	36,811	37,927	39,043	40,158	41,274	42,390	43,506
GS-4	37,563	38,815	40,068	41,320	42,573	43,825	45,077	46,330	47,582	48,835
GS-5	42,027	43,428	44,829	46,230	47,630	49,031	50,432	51,833	53,234	54,635
GS-6	46,848	48,409	49,971	51,533	53,094	54,656	56,217	57,779	59,340	60,902
GS-7	52,059	53,795	55,530	57,266	59,001	60,736	62,472	64,207	65,943	67,678
GS-8	57,653	59,575	61,496	63,418	65,339	67,260	69,182	71,103	73,025	74,946
GS-9	63,678	65,802	67,925	70,048	72,171	74,294	76,417	78,540	80,663	82,787
GS-10	70,124	72,461	74,798	77,135	79,471	81,808	84,145	86,482	88,819	91,156
GS-11	77,045	79,614	82,183	84,752	87,320	89,889	92,458	95,027	97,595	100,164
GS-12	92,344	95,423	98,501	101,580	104,658	107,737	110,815	113,893	116,972	120,050
GS-13	109,810	113,471	117,131	120,792	124,452	128,113	131,773	135,434	139,094	142,755
GS-14	129,763	134,089	138,414	142,740	147,066	151,392	155,718	160,044	164,370	168,696
GS-15	152,634	157,722	162,810	167,898	172,986	178,074	183,162	188,250	193,338	197,200

Annual rate divided by 2,087 hours (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)), as in OPM’s hourly table.
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	13.07	13.51	13.94	14.37	14.81	15.06	15.49	15.92	15.94	16.35
GS-2	14.69	15.04	15.53	15.94	16.12	16.59	17.07	17.54	18.02	18.49
GS-3	16.03	16.57	17.10	17.64	18.17	18.71	19.24	19.78	20.31	20.85
GS-4	18.00	18.60	19.20	19.80	20.40	21.00	21.60	22.20	22.80	23.40
GS-5	20.14	20.81	21.48	22.15	22.82	23.49	24.16	24.84	25.51	26.18
GS-6	22.45	23.20	23.94	24.69	25.44	26.19	26.94	27.69	28.43	29.18
GS-7	24.94	25.78	26.61	27.44	28.27	29.10	29.93	30.77	31.60	32.43
GS-8	27.62	28.55	29.47	30.39	31.31	32.23	33.15	34.07	34.99	35.91
GS-9	30.51	31.53	32.55	33.56	34.58	35.60	36.62	37.63	38.65	39.67
GS-10	33.60	34.72	35.84	36.96	38.08	39.20	40.32	41.44	42.56	43.68
GS-11	36.92	38.15	39.38	40.61	41.84	43.07	44.30	45.53	46.76	47.99
GS-12	44.25	45.72	47.20	48.67	50.15	51.62	53.10	54.57	56.05	57.52
GS-13	52.62	54.37	56.12	57.88	59.63	61.39	63.14	64.89	66.65	68.40
GS-14	62.18	64.25	66.32	68.39	70.47	72.54	74.61	76.69	78.76	80.83
GS-15	73.14	75.57	78.01	80.45	82.89	85.33	87.76	90.20	92.64	94.49

Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,045.60	1,080.80	1,115.20	1,149.60	1,184.80	1,204.80	1,239.20	1,273.60	1,275.20	1,308.00
GS-2	1,175.20	1,203.20	1,242.40	1,275.20	1,289.60	1,327.20	1,365.60	1,403.20	1,441.60	1,479.20
GS-3	1,282.40	1,325.60	1,368.00	1,411.20	1,453.60	1,496.80	1,539.20	1,582.40	1,624.80	1,668.00
GS-4	1,440.00	1,488.00	1,536.00	1,584.00	1,632.00	1,680.00	1,728.00	1,776.00	1,824.00	1,872.00
GS-5	1,611.20	1,664.80	1,718.40	1,772.00	1,825.60	1,879.20	1,932.80	1,987.20	2,040.80	2,094.40
GS-6	1,796.00	1,856.00	1,915.20	1,975.20	2,035.20	2,095.20	2,155.20	2,215.20	2,274.40	2,334.40
GS-7	1,995.20	2,062.40	2,128.80	2,195.20	2,261.60	2,328.00	2,394.40	2,461.60	2,528.00	2,594.40
GS-8	2,209.60	2,284.00	2,357.60	2,431.20	2,504.80	2,578.40	2,652.00	2,725.60	2,799.20	2,872.80
GS-9	2,440.80	2,522.40	2,604.00	2,684.80	2,766.40	2,848.00	2,929.60	3,010.40	3,092.00	3,173.60
GS-10	2,688.00	2,777.60	2,867.20	2,956.80	3,046.40	3,136.00	3,225.60	3,315.20	3,404.80	3,494.40
GS-11	2,953.60	3,052.00	3,150.40	3,248.80	3,347.20	3,445.60	3,544.00	3,642.40	3,740.80	3,839.20
GS-12	3,540.00	3,657.60	3,776.00	3,893.60	4,012.00	4,129.60	4,248.00	4,365.60	4,484.00	4,601.60
GS-13	4,209.60	4,349.60	4,489.60	4,630.40	4,770.40	4,911.20	5,051.20	5,191.20	5,332.00	5,472.00
GS-14	4,974.40	5,140.00	5,305.60	5,471.20	5,637.60	5,803.20	5,968.80	6,135.20	6,300.80	6,466.40
GS-15	5,851.20	6,045.60	6,240.80	6,436.00	6,631.20	6,826.40	7,020.80	7,216.00	7,411.20	7,559.20

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-AL, matched cell by cell; compare with Rest of U.S..

After local prices

Its neighbors by what it buys (how; all 57).
#	Locality	On paper	Price level	What it buys
39	Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV	$112,449	106.7	$105,418
40	Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY	$102,154	97.0	$105,275
41	Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC	$102,951	97.9	$105,115
42	Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA	$104,658	99.6	$105,114
43	Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA	$103,497	98.7	$104,913
44	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA	$118,264	113.6	$104,137
45	Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA	$109,303	105.4	$103,682

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	99.7	99.6	#23 (tied)
Housing (rent)	102.6	100.6	#28
Utilities	134.0	98.4	#9
Other services	97.8	100.1	#41 (tied)
All items	99.6	100.0	#29

Locality pay since 2016

Dashed: the Rest of U.S. rate.

Percent, from OPM’s tables for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026. Sources and caveats; every area since 2016: ten years of locality pay.
Locality pay, %	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
Albany, NY	14.49	15.85	16.50	17.19	17.88	17.88	18.68	19.45	20.25	20.77	20.77
Rest of U.S.	14.35	15.06	15.37	15.67	15.95	15.95	16.20	16.50	16.82	17.06	17.06

Albany, NY has had a locality pay table of its own only since 2016; before that its counties were paid the Rest of U.S. rate.

Among the 46 areas with a table of their own since 2016, it has climbed from 39th to 34th by locality percentage, the second-biggest climb of them, shared with Charlotte, NC and Richmond, VA.

The 1990 pay law’s formula

Formula 46.19%, paid 20.77%: 25.42 points apart (median 18.40); nine editions: table

The editions checked here, the memos for pay in 2018 to 2026. Sources: memo of January 10, 2025, Attachment 1, and the council’s earlier memos; the President’s Pay Agent on 2026; what these estimates are and are not; every area against the formula: how far pay is from the 1990 law.
Edition, for pay in	Data as of	Listed as	Pay gap, %	Formula rate, %	Rate paid that year, %
2026	March 2024	Locality pay area	53.50	46.19	20.77
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	57.79	50.28	20.77
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	56.03	48.60	20.25
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	48.85	41.76	19.45
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	49.48	42.36	18.68
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	52.26	45.01	17.88
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	53.98	46.65	17.88
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	55.85	48.43	17.19
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	53.68	46.36	16.50

Federal jobs

7,766 federal civilian jobs in 2025, 238 fewer than in 2024, down 2.97%: table

In this area’s 13 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 4,580 federal jobs in Massachusetts and New York with no county; the states page counts them with the state, not with any area. Sources and caveats; every area: where the federal jobs are.
Year	Federal civilian jobs	Share of all jobs, %	Average pay per job
2023	7,835	1.26	$84,943
2024	8,004	1.27	$87,192
2025	7,766	1.22	$91,202

Counties

13 counties paid at this rate

Massachusetts, 1 county

Berkshire County

New York, 12 counties

Albany County
Columbia County
Fulton County
Greene County (added 2024)
Hamilton County (added 2024)
Montgomery County
Rensselaer County
Saratoga County
Schenectady County
Schoharie County
Warren County
Washington County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.