GS pay scale 2026
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Austin, TX GS pay scale 2026: 20.35% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $104,294 with 20.35% locality pay; local prices are within 2% of the national average, so at U.S. prices it is worth close to that, $106,351.

#35 on paper, #35 after prices

No changeSame place, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$106,351BEA price level 98.1, for Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

Ceiling watch

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

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +5.84 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 46.41%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 39.44%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 14,076
Share of all jobs here: 1.05%
Largest county by federal jobs: Travis County, TX: 12,122

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	27,180	28,091	28,995	29,895	30,796	31,325	32,219	33,119	33,156	33,996
GS-2	30,560	31,287	32,301	33,156	33,527	34,513	35,498	36,484	37,470	38,455
GS-3	33,347	34,459	35,571	36,683	37,795	38,907	40,019	41,131	42,243	43,355
GS-4	37,432	38,680	39,929	41,177	42,425	43,673	44,921	46,169	47,417	48,665
GS-5	41,881	43,277	44,673	46,069	47,465	48,861	50,257	51,653	53,049	54,445
GS-6	46,685	48,241	49,797	51,353	52,909	54,466	56,022	57,578	59,134	60,690
GS-7	51,878	53,608	55,337	57,066	58,796	60,525	62,255	63,984	65,714	67,443
GS-8	57,453	59,367	61,282	63,197	65,112	67,027	68,941	70,856	72,771	74,686
GS-9	63,457	65,573	67,688	69,804	71,920	74,036	76,151	78,267	80,383	82,499
GS-10	69,880	72,209	74,538	76,866	79,195	81,524	83,853	86,181	88,510	90,839
GS-11	76,777	79,337	81,897	84,457	87,017	89,577	92,136	94,696	97,256	99,816
GS-12	92,023	95,091	98,159	101,226	104,294	107,362	110,430	113,497	116,565	119,633
GS-13	109,428	113,076	116,724	120,372	124,019	127,667	131,315	134,963	138,611	142,259
GS-14	129,311	133,622	137,933	142,244	146,555	150,866	155,177	159,488	163,799	168,110
GS-15	152,103	157,173	162,244	167,314	172,385	177,455	182,525	187,596	192,666	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	13.02	13.46	13.89	14.32	14.76	15.01	15.44	15.87	15.89	16.29
GS-2	14.64	14.99	15.48	15.89	16.06	16.54	17.01	17.48	17.95	18.43
GS-3	15.98	16.51	17.04	17.58	18.11	18.64	19.18	19.71	20.24	20.77
GS-4	17.94	18.53	19.13	19.73	20.33	20.93	21.52	22.12	22.72	23.32
GS-5	20.07	20.74	21.41	22.07	22.74	23.41	24.08	24.75	25.42	26.09
GS-6	22.37	23.11	23.86	24.61	25.35	26.10	26.84	27.59	28.33	29.08
GS-7	24.86	25.69	26.52	27.34	28.17	29.00	29.83	30.66	31.49	32.32
GS-8	27.53	28.45	29.36	30.28	31.20	32.12	33.03	33.95	34.87	35.79
GS-9	30.41	31.42	32.43	33.45	34.46	35.47	36.49	37.50	38.52	39.53
GS-10	33.48	34.60	35.72	36.83	37.95	39.06	40.18	41.29	42.41	43.53
GS-11	36.79	38.01	39.24	40.47	41.69	42.92	44.15	45.37	46.60	47.83
GS-12	44.09	45.56	47.03	48.50	49.97	51.44	52.91	54.38	55.85	57.32
GS-13	52.43	54.18	55.93	57.68	59.42	61.17	62.92	64.67	66.42	68.16
GS-14	61.96	64.03	66.09	68.16	70.22	72.29	74.35	76.42	78.49	80.55
GS-15	72.88	75.31	77.74	80.17	82.60	85.03	87.46	89.89	92.32	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	1,041.60	1,076.80	1,111.20	1,145.60	1,180.80	1,200.80	1,235.20	1,269.60	1,271.20	1,303.20
GS-2	1,171.20	1,199.20	1,238.40	1,271.20	1,284.80	1,323.20	1,360.80	1,398.40	1,436.00	1,474.40
GS-3	1,278.40	1,320.80	1,363.20	1,406.40	1,448.80	1,491.20	1,534.40	1,576.80	1,619.20	1,661.60
GS-4	1,435.20	1,482.40	1,530.40	1,578.40	1,626.40	1,674.40	1,721.60	1,769.60	1,817.60	1,865.60
GS-5	1,605.60	1,659.20	1,712.80	1,765.60	1,819.20	1,872.80	1,926.40	1,980.00	2,033.60	2,087.20
GS-6	1,789.60	1,848.80	1,908.80	1,968.80	2,028.00	2,088.00	2,147.20	2,207.20	2,266.40	2,326.40
GS-7	1,988.80	2,055.20	2,121.60	2,187.20	2,253.60	2,320.00	2,386.40	2,452.80	2,519.20	2,585.60
GS-8	2,202.40	2,276.00	2,348.80	2,422.40	2,496.00	2,569.60	2,642.40	2,716.00	2,789.60	2,863.20
GS-9	2,432.80	2,513.60	2,594.40	2,676.00	2,756.80	2,837.60	2,919.20	3,000.00	3,081.60	3,162.40
GS-10	2,678.40	2,768.00	2,857.60	2,946.40	3,036.00	3,124.80	3,214.40	3,303.20	3,392.80	3,482.40
GS-11	2,943.20	3,040.80	3,139.20	3,237.60	3,335.20	3,433.60	3,532.00	3,629.60	3,728.00	3,826.40
GS-12	3,527.20	3,644.80	3,762.40	3,880.00	3,997.60	4,115.20	4,232.80	4,350.40	4,468.00	4,585.60
GS-13	4,194.40	4,334.40	4,474.40	4,614.40	4,753.60	4,893.60	5,033.60	5,173.60	5,313.60	5,452.80
GS-14	4,956.80	5,122.40	5,287.20	5,452.80	5,617.60	5,783.20	5,948.00	6,113.60	6,279.20	6,444.00
GS-15	5,830.40	6,024.80	6,219.20	6,413.60	6,608.00	6,802.40	6,996.80	7,191.20	7,385.60	7,559.20

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-AU, 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
32	Tucson-Nogales, AZ	$103,367	96.9	$106,678
33	Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA	$116,071	108.9	$106,601
34	Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC	$103,705	97.3	$106,530
35	Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX	$104,294	98.1	$106,351
36	New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA	$119,546	112.6	$106,204
37	Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT	$114,893	108.3	$106,121
38	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI	$110,594	104.8	$105,506

Rent here runs well ahead of prices overall: BEA puts housing 19.6% above the U.S. level, at 120.4, while all prices together, at 98.1, are within 2% of 100.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	93.8	99.6	#48 (tied)
Housing (rent)	120.4	100.6	#15
Utilities	82.0	98.4	#52
Other services	96.2	100.1	#49 (tied)
All items	98.1	100.0	#33

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
Austin, TX	14.51	15.97	16.71	17.46	18.17	18.17	18.80	19.40	19.99	20.35	20.35
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

Austin, TX 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 39.44%, paid 20.35%: 19.09 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	46.41	39.44	20.35
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	48.25	41.19	20.35
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	47.99	40.94	19.99
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	43.54	36.70	19.40
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	44.42	37.54	18.80
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	48.93	41.84	18.17
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	55.03	47.65	18.17
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	58.62	51.07	17.46
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	57.89	50.37	16.71

Federal jobs

In this area’s 9 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 13,060 federal jobs in Texas 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	13,929	1.09	$79,538
2024	14,413	1.11	$82,640
2025	14,076	1.05	$86,088

Average pay per federal job, overtime included, was $86,088 in 2025, the third-lowest of the 58 areas; across all 58 it was $105,058.

Counties

9 counties paid at this rate

Texas, 9 counties

Bastrop County
Blanco County (added 2024)
Burnet County (added 2024)
Caldwell County
Hays County
Lee County (added 2024)
Milam County (added 2024)
Travis County
Williamson County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.