GS pay scale 2026
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Albuquerque, NM GS pay scale 2026: 18.33% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $102,544 with 18.33% locality pay, and prices below the national average stretch it to what $107,324 buys elsewhere.

#47 on paper, #27 after prices

+20Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$107,324BEA price level 95.5, for Albuquerque, NM.

Ceiling watch

ClearNo cell reaches $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +3.96 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 39.44%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 32.80%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 17,698
Share of all jobs here: 3.32%
Largest county by federal jobs: Bernalillo County, NM: 13,039

Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

A yearAn hourEvery two weeks

No cell here reaches the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	26,724	27,619	28,508	29,393	30,279	30,799	31,678	32,563	32,600	33,426
GS-2	30,048	30,762	31,759	32,600	32,964	33,933	34,903	35,872	36,841	37,810
GS-3	32,787	33,880	34,974	36,067	37,160	38,254	39,347	40,440	41,534	42,627
GS-4	36,804	38,031	39,258	40,485	41,713	42,940	44,167	45,394	46,621	47,848
GS-5	41,178	42,550	43,923	45,296	46,668	48,041	49,413	50,786	52,159	53,531
GS-6	45,901	47,431	48,961	50,491	52,021	53,551	55,081	56,611	58,141	59,671
GS-7	51,007	52,708	54,408	56,109	57,809	59,509	61,210	62,910	64,611	66,311
GS-8	56,488	58,371	60,254	62,136	64,019	65,902	67,784	69,667	71,549	73,432
GS-9	62,392	64,472	66,552	68,633	70,713	72,793	74,873	76,954	79,034	81,114
GS-10	68,707	70,997	73,287	75,576	77,866	80,156	82,445	84,735	87,025	89,314
GS-11	75,489	78,006	80,522	83,039	85,556	88,073	90,590	93,107	95,624	98,141
GS-12	90,479	93,495	96,511	99,527	102,544	105,560	108,576	111,592	114,609	117,625
GS-13	107,592	111,178	114,765	118,351	121,938	125,524	129,111	132,698	136,284	139,871
GS-14	127,141	131,379	135,618	139,857	144,095	148,334	152,572	156,811	161,049	165,288
GS-15	149,550	154,535	159,521	164,506	169,491	174,476	179,462	184,447	189,432	194,417

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	12.80	13.23	13.66	14.08	14.51	14.76	15.18	15.60	15.62	16.02
GS-2	14.40	14.74	15.22	15.62	15.79	16.26	16.72	17.19	17.65	18.12
GS-3	15.71	16.23	16.76	17.28	17.81	18.33	18.85	19.38	19.90	20.43
GS-4	17.63	18.22	18.81	19.40	19.99	20.57	21.16	21.75	22.34	22.93
GS-5	19.73	20.39	21.05	21.70	22.36	23.02	23.68	24.33	24.99	25.65
GS-6	21.99	22.73	23.46	24.19	24.93	25.66	26.39	27.13	27.86	28.59
GS-7	24.44	25.26	26.07	26.89	27.70	28.51	29.33	30.14	30.96	31.77
GS-8	27.07	27.97	28.87	29.77	30.68	31.58	32.48	33.38	34.28	35.19
GS-9	29.90	30.89	31.89	32.89	33.88	34.88	35.88	36.87	37.87	38.87
GS-10	32.92	34.02	35.12	36.21	37.31	38.41	39.50	40.60	41.70	42.80
GS-11	36.17	37.38	38.58	39.79	40.99	42.20	43.41	44.61	45.82	47.02
GS-12	43.35	44.80	46.24	47.69	49.13	50.58	52.02	53.47	54.92	56.36
GS-13	51.55	53.27	54.99	56.71	58.43	60.15	61.86	63.58	65.30	67.02
GS-14	60.92	62.95	64.98	67.01	69.04	71.08	73.11	75.14	77.17	79.20
GS-15	71.66	74.05	76.44	78.82	81.21	83.60	85.99	88.38	90.77	93.16

Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,024.00	1,058.40	1,092.80	1,126.40	1,160.80	1,180.80	1,214.40	1,248.00	1,249.60	1,281.60
GS-2	1,152.00	1,179.20	1,217.60	1,249.60	1,263.20	1,300.80	1,337.60	1,375.20	1,412.00	1,449.60
GS-3	1,256.80	1,298.40	1,340.80	1,382.40	1,424.80	1,466.40	1,508.00	1,550.40	1,592.00	1,634.40
GS-4	1,410.40	1,457.60	1,504.80	1,552.00	1,599.20	1,645.60	1,692.80	1,740.00	1,787.20	1,834.40
GS-5	1,578.40	1,631.20	1,684.00	1,736.00	1,788.80	1,841.60	1,894.40	1,946.40	1,999.20	2,052.00
GS-6	1,759.20	1,818.40	1,876.80	1,935.20	1,994.40	2,052.80	2,111.20	2,170.40	2,228.80	2,287.20
GS-7	1,955.20	2,020.80	2,085.60	2,151.20	2,216.00	2,280.80	2,346.40	2,411.20	2,476.80	2,541.60
GS-8	2,165.60	2,237.60	2,309.60	2,381.60	2,454.40	2,526.40	2,598.40	2,670.40	2,742.40	2,815.20
GS-9	2,392.00	2,471.20	2,551.20	2,631.20	2,710.40	2,790.40	2,870.40	2,949.60	3,029.60	3,109.60
GS-10	2,633.60	2,721.60	2,809.60	2,896.80	2,984.80	3,072.80	3,160.00	3,248.00	3,336.00	3,424.00
GS-11	2,893.60	2,990.40	3,086.40	3,183.20	3,279.20	3,376.00	3,472.80	3,568.80	3,665.60	3,761.60
GS-12	3,468.00	3,584.00	3,699.20	3,815.20	3,930.40	4,046.40	4,161.60	4,277.60	4,393.60	4,508.80
GS-13	4,124.00	4,261.60	4,399.20	4,536.80	4,674.40	4,812.00	4,948.80	5,086.40	5,224.00	5,361.60
GS-14	4,873.60	5,036.00	5,198.40	5,360.80	5,523.20	5,686.40	5,848.80	6,011.20	6,173.60	6,336.00
GS-15	5,732.80	5,924.00	6,115.20	6,305.60	6,496.80	6,688.00	6,879.20	7,070.40	7,261.60	7,452.80

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-AQ, 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
24	San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX	$102,934	94.7	$108,676
25	Richmond, VA	$105,967	97.9	$108,286
26	Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC	$105,932	98.2	$107,921
27	Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM	$102,544	95.5	$107,324
28	Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL	$107,275	100.1	$107,213
29	Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN	$102,388	95.7	$106,993
30	Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK	$110,282	103.1	$106,976

Prices here are those of the Albuquerque, NM metro area, 95.5. The area’s name also takes in Santa Fe: BEA puts the Santa Fe, NM metro area at 98.8, and at that level GS-12 step 5 here would buy $103,824.

Here it is utilities, not rent, that stand out: at 77.9, they are the third-lowest of the 57 areas with a price index.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Albuquerque, NM metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	96.1	99.6	#41 (tied)
Housing (rent)	89.2	100.6	#40
Utilities	77.9	98.4	#55
Other services	98.5	100.1	#38
All items	95.5	100.0	#42 (tied)

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
Albuquerque, NM	14.37	15.36	15.76	16.20	16.68	16.68	17.14	17.63	18.05	18.33	18.33
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

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

The 1990 pay law’s formula

Formula 32.80%, paid 18.33%: 14.47 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	39.44	32.80	18.33
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	41.26	34.53	18.33
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	39.63	32.98	18.05
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	38.52	31.92	17.63
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	37.30	30.76	17.14
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	42.57	35.78	16.68
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	43.56	36.72	16.68
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	43.04	36.23	16.20
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	40.94	34.23	15.76

Federal jobs

In this area’s 11 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 644 federal jobs in New Mexico 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	18,973	3.61	$93,842
2024	19,114	3.59	$99,492
2025	17,698	3.32	$103,291

Federal jobs here fell from 2024 to 2025, 1,416 fewer than in 2024, down 7.41%, the second-steepest drop of the 55 areas where they fell, and the 2025 average still counts staff on paid administrative leave until 30 September.

Counties

11 counties paid at this rate

New Mexico, 11 counties

Bernalillo County
Cibola County
Los Alamos County
McKinley County (added 2019)
Mora County (added 2024)
Rio Arriba County
San Miguel County
Sandoval County
Santa Fe County
Torrance County
Valencia County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.