INDEPENDENTREFERENCEGSGS Pay TablesWhat the federal pay tables mean 2026 edition
Effective January 2026

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Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL$107,275a year$4,112.00Every two weeks$51.40Per hour$51.66Overtime hour#20On paper#28After prices
  1. GS pay scale 2026
  2. Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Atlanta, GA GS pay scale 2026: 23.79% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $107,275 with 23.79% locality pay; local prices are within 2% of the national average, so at U.S. prices it is worth close to that, $107,213.

#20 on paper, #28 after prices

−8Places lost, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$107,213BEA price level 100.1, for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA.

Ceiling watch

2 of 150cells held to $197,200, from GS-15 step 9.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016
+4.21 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate
46.43%
Rate the 1990 formula would set
39.46%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025
64,351
Share of all jobs here
1.81%
Largest county by federal jobs
Fulton County, GA: 29,883
Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

▲ marks the 2 cells cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade12345678910
GS-127,95728,89429,82330,74931,67732,22033,14034,06634,10434,968
GS-231,43432,18233,22434,10434,48535,49936,51337,52738,54139,555
GS-334,30035,44436,58737,73138,87540,01941,16342,30643,45044,594
GS-438,50239,78641,07042,35443,63744,92146,20547,48848,77250,056
GS-543,07844,51445,95047,38648,82250,25851,69353,12954,56556,001
GS-648,01949,62051,22152,82154,42256,02257,62359,22460,82462,425
GS-753,36155,14056,91958,69860,47662,25564,03465,81367,59269,371
GS-859,09561,06463,03465,00366,97368,94270,91272,88174,85176,820
GS-965,27167,44769,62371,79973,97676,15278,32880,50482,68184,857
GS-1071,87774,27376,66879,06381,45983,85486,24988,64591,04093,435
GS-1178,97281,60584,23886,87189,50492,13794,77097,403100,036102,669
GS-1294,65497,809100,964104,120107,275110,431113,586116,741119,897123,052
GS-13112,556116,308120,060123,812127,564131,316135,069138,821142,573146,325
GS-14133,007137,442141,876146,310150,744155,178159,612164,047168,481172,915
GS-15156,451161,666166,881172,097177,312182,527187,742192,958197,200197,200
Annual rate divided by 2,087 hours (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)), as in OPM’s hourly table.
Grade12345678910
GS-113.4013.8414.2914.7315.1815.4415.8816.3216.3416.76
GS-215.0615.4215.9216.3416.5217.0117.5017.9818.4718.95
GS-316.4416.9817.5318.0818.6319.1819.7220.2720.8221.37
GS-418.4519.0619.6820.2920.9121.5222.1422.7523.3723.98
GS-520.6421.3322.0222.7123.3924.0824.7725.4626.1526.83
GS-623.0123.7824.5425.3126.0826.8427.6128.3829.1429.91
GS-725.5726.4227.2728.1328.9829.8330.6831.5332.3933.24
GS-828.3229.2630.2031.1532.0933.0333.9834.9235.8736.81
GS-931.2832.3233.3634.4035.4536.4937.5338.5739.6240.66
GS-1034.4435.5936.7437.8839.0340.1841.3342.4743.6244.77
GS-1137.8439.1040.3641.6242.8944.1545.4146.6747.9349.19
GS-1245.3546.8748.3849.8951.4052.9154.4355.9457.4558.96
GS-1353.9355.7357.5359.3361.1262.9264.7266.5268.3170.11
GS-1463.7365.8667.9870.1172.2374.3576.4878.6080.7382.85
GS-1574.9677.4679.9682.4684.9687.4689.9692.4694.4994.49
Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade12345678910
GS-11,072.001,107.201,143.201,178.401,214.401,235.201,270.401,305.601,307.201,340.80
GS-21,204.801,233.601,273.601,307.201,321.601,360.801,400.001,438.401,477.601,516.00
GS-31,315.201,358.401,402.401,446.401,490.401,534.401,577.601,621.601,665.601,709.60
GS-41,476.001,524.801,574.401,623.201,672.801,721.601,771.201,820.001,869.601,918.40
GS-51,651.201,706.401,761.601,816.801,871.201,926.401,981.602,036.802,092.002,146.40
GS-61,840.801,902.401,963.202,024.802,086.402,147.202,208.802,270.402,331.202,392.80
GS-72,045.602,113.602,181.602,250.402,318.402,386.402,454.402,522.402,591.202,659.20
GS-82,265.602,340.802,416.002,492.002,567.202,642.402,718.402,793.602,869.602,944.80
GS-92,502.402,585.602,668.802,752.002,836.002,919.203,002.403,085.603,169.603,252.80
GS-102,755.202,847.202,939.203,030.403,122.403,214.403,306.403,397.603,489.603,581.60
GS-113,027.203,128.003,228.803,329.603,431.203,532.003,632.803,733.603,834.403,935.20
GS-123,628.003,749.603,870.403,991.204,112.004,232.804,354.404,475.204,596.004,716.80
GS-134,314.404,458.404,602.404,746.404,889.605,033.605,177.605,321.605,464.805,608.80
GS-145,098.405,268.805,438.405,608.805,778.405,948.006,118.406,288.006,458.406,628.00
GS-155,996.806,196.806,396.806,596.806,796.806,996.807,196.807,396.807,559.207,559.20
Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-ATL, matched cell by cell; compare with Rest of U.S..

After local prices

Its neighbors by what it buys (how; all 57).
#LocalityOn paperPrice levelWhat it buys
25Richmond, VA$105,96797.9$108,286
26Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC$105,93298.2$107,921
27Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM$102,54495.5$107,324
28Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL$107,275100.1$107,213
29Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN$102,38895.7$106,993
30Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK$110,282103.1$106,976
31Denver-Aurora, CO$113,107105.8$106,925

Prices here are those of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area, 100.1. The area’s name also takes in Athens and Clarke County: BEA puts the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area at 93.3, and at that level GS-12 step 5 here would buy $114,926.

Rent here runs well ahead of prices overall: BEA puts housing 10.3% above the U.S. level, at 111.0, while all prices together, at 100.1, are within 2% of 100.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spendingHereU.S.Rank of 57
Goods100.499.6#21
Housing (rent)111.0100.6#23
Utilities96.298.4#22
Other services96.7100.1#46 (tied)
All items100.1100.0#27

Prices here have been rising more slowly than in the country as a whole: BLS consumer prices for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA area rose 2.9% in the twelve months to August 2026, the latest month BLS has for it, against 3.4% for the U.S. city average over the same months; to September 2026 the U.S. figure is 3.7%.

Locality pay since 2016

0%25%50%20162026
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, %20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Atlanta, GA19.5820.7021.1621.6422.1622.1622.6323.0223.4523.7923.79
Rest of U.S.14.3515.0615.3715.6715.9515.9516.2016.5016.8217.0617.06

In 2024 OPM added 24 counties in Alabama and Georgia to it, the most it added to any area.

The 1990 pay law’s formula

Formula 39.46%, paid 23.79%: 15.67 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 inData as ofListed asPay gap, %Formula rate, %Rate paid that year, %
2026March 2024Locality pay area46.4339.4623.79
2025March 2023Locality pay area50.4143.2523.79
2024March 2022Locality pay area45.3438.4223.45
2023March 2021Locality pay area41.1534.4323.02
2022March 2020Locality pay area43.4936.6622.63
2021March 2019Locality pay area47.8940.8522.16
2020March 2018Locality pay area50.9243.7322.16
2019March 2017Locality pay area50.4343.2721.64
2018March 2016Locality pay area49.5342.4121.16

Federal jobs

64,351 federal civilian jobs in 2025, 1,060 fewer than in 2024, down 1.62%: table
In this area’s 64 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 3,896 federal jobs in Alabama and Georgia 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.
YearFederal civilian jobsShare of all jobs, %Average pay per job
202362,7331.79$97,307
202465,4111.85$101,232
202564,3511.81$104,044

Counties

64 counties paid at this rate

Alabama, 6 counties

  • Chambers County
  • Cherokee County (added 2024)
  • Cleburne County (added 2024)
  • Lee County (added 2024)
  • Randolph County (added 2024)
  • Russell County (added 2024)

Georgia, 58 counties

  • Banks County (added 2024)
  • Barrow County
  • Bartow County
  • Butts County
  • Carroll County
  • Chattahoochee County (added 2024)
  • Cherokee County
  • Clarke County
  • Clayton County
  • Cobb County
  • Coweta County
  • Dawson County
  • DeKalb County
  • Douglas County
  • Elbert County (added 2024)
  • Fayette County
  • Floyd County (added 2024)
  • Forsyth County
  • Franklin County (added 2024)
  • Fulton County
  • Gilmer County (added 2024)
  • Gordon County
  • Greene County (added 2024)
  • Gwinnett County
  • Habersham County (added 2024)
  • Hall County
  • Haralson County
  • Harris County (added 2024)
  • Heard County
  • Henry County
  • Jackson County
  • Jasper County
  • Lamar County
  • Lumpkin County (added 2024)
  • Madison County
  • Marion County (added 2024)
  • Meriwether County
  • Morgan County
  • Muscogee County (added 2024)
  • Newton County
  • Oconee County
  • Oglethorpe County
  • Paulding County
  • Pickens County
  • Pike County
  • Polk County
  • Putnam County (added 2024)
  • Rabun County (added 2024)
  • Rockdale County
  • Spalding County
  • Stephens County (added 2024)
  • Stewart County (added 2024)
  • Talbot County (added 2024)
  • Taliaferro County (added 2024)
  • Troup County
  • Upson County
  • Walton County
  • White County (added 2024)
Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.

Its 64 counties are the most of any area.