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

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Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL$102,466a year$3,928.00Every two weeks$49.10Per hour$49.35Overtime hour#48On paper#9After prices
  1. GS pay scale 2026
  2. Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Birmingham, AL GS pay scale 2026: 18.24% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $102,466 with 18.24% locality pay, and prices below the national average stretch it to what $111,809 buys elsewhere.

#48 on paper, #9 after prices

+39Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$111,809BEA price level 91.6, for Birmingham, AL.

Ceiling watch

ClearNo cell reaches $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016
+3.89 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate
39.93%
Rate the 1990 formula would set
33.27%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025
15,851
Share of all jobs here
2.00%
Largest county by federal jobs
Jefferson County, AL: 8,318
Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

No cell here reaches the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade12345678910
GS-126,70327,59828,48629,37130,25630,77631,65432,53832,57533,400
GS-230,02530,73931,73432,57532,93933,90834,87635,84436,81337,781
GS-332,76233,85434,94736,04037,13238,22539,31740,41041,50242,595
GS-436,77638,00239,22840,45541,68142,90744,13345,35946,58547,812
GS-541,14642,51843,89045,26146,63348,00449,37650,74752,11953,491
GS-645,86647,39548,92450,45351,98253,51155,04056,56858,09759,626
GS-750,96952,66854,36756,06657,76559,46461,16362,86264,56166,261
GS-856,44558,32760,20862,08963,97065,85167,73369,61471,49573,376
GS-962,34464,42366,50268,58070,65972,73874,81676,89578,97481,052
GS-1068,65570,94373,23175,51977,80780,09582,38384,67086,95889,246
GS-1175,43177,94680,46182,97685,49188,00690,52193,03695,55198,066
GS-1290,41093,42496,43899,452102,466105,480108,493111,507114,521117,535
GS-13107,510111,094114,677118,261121,845125,429129,013132,597136,181139,764
GS-14127,044131,280135,515139,750143,986148,221152,456156,692160,927165,162
GS-15149,436154,418159,399164,381169,362174,344179,325184,307189,288194,270
Annual rate divided by 2,087 hours (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)), as in OPM’s hourly table.
Grade12345678910
GS-112.7913.2213.6514.0714.5014.7515.1715.5915.6116.00
GS-214.3914.7315.2115.6115.7816.2516.7117.1717.6418.10
GS-315.7016.2216.7517.2717.7918.3218.8419.3619.8920.41
GS-417.6218.2118.8019.3819.9720.5621.1521.7322.3222.91
GS-519.7220.3721.0321.6922.3423.0023.6624.3224.9725.63
GS-621.9822.7123.4424.1724.9125.6426.3727.1027.8428.57
GS-724.4225.2426.0526.8627.6828.4929.3130.1230.9331.75
GS-827.0527.9528.8529.7530.6531.5532.4533.3634.2635.16
GS-929.8730.8731.8632.8633.8634.8535.8536.8437.8438.84
GS-1032.9033.9935.0936.1937.2838.3839.4740.5741.6742.76
GS-1136.1437.3538.5539.7640.9642.1743.3744.5845.7846.99
GS-1243.3244.7646.2147.6549.1050.5451.9953.4354.8756.32
GS-1351.5153.2354.9556.6758.3860.1061.8263.5365.2566.97
GS-1460.8762.9064.9366.9668.9971.0273.0575.0877.1179.14
GS-1571.6073.9976.3878.7681.1583.5485.9288.3190.7093.09
Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade12345678910
GS-11,023.201,057.601,092.001,125.601,160.001,180.001,213.601,247.201,248.801,280.00
GS-21,151.201,178.401,216.801,248.801,262.401,300.001,336.801,373.601,411.201,448.00
GS-31,256.001,297.601,340.001,381.601,423.201,465.601,507.201,548.801,591.201,632.80
GS-41,409.601,456.801,504.001,550.401,597.601,644.801,692.001,738.401,785.601,832.80
GS-51,577.601,629.601,682.401,735.201,787.201,840.001,892.801,945.601,997.602,050.40
GS-61,758.401,816.801,875.201,933.601,992.802,051.202,109.602,168.002,227.202,285.60
GS-71,953.602,019.202,084.002,148.802,214.402,279.202,344.802,409.602,474.402,540.00
GS-82,164.002,236.002,308.002,380.002,452.002,524.002,596.002,668.802,740.802,812.80
GS-92,389.602,469.602,548.802,628.802,708.802,788.002,868.002,947.203,027.203,107.20
GS-102,632.002,719.202,807.202,895.202,982.403,070.403,157.603,245.603,333.603,420.80
GS-112,891.202,988.003,084.003,180.803,276.803,373.603,469.603,566.403,662.403,759.20
GS-123,465.603,580.803,696.803,812.003,928.004,043.204,159.204,274.404,389.604,505.60
GS-134,120.804,258.404,396.004,533.604,670.404,808.004,945.605,082.405,220.005,357.60
GS-144,869.605,032.005,194.405,356.805,519.205,681.605,844.006,006.406,168.806,331.20
GS-155,728.005,919.206,110.406,300.806,492.006,683.206,873.607,064.807,256.007,447.20
Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-BH, 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
6Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN$105,64693.1$113,510
7Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA$105,92393.9$112,776
8State of Alaska$114,702102.4$112,059
9Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL$102,46691.6$111,809
10Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI$111,894100.3$111,562
11Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA$102,26691.7$111,521
12Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA$102,45791.9$111,474

Local prices here, 91.6 against a U.S. average of 100, are the third-lowest of the 57 areas with a price index.

Cheap rent sets this area apart: BEA puts housing at 71.9, the third-lowest of the 57 areas with a price index and 28.6% below the U.S. level, while all prices together are 8.4% below the U.S. level, at 91.6.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Birmingham, AL metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spendingHereU.S.Rank of 57
Goods96.499.6#35 (tied)
Housing (rent)71.9100.6#55
Utilities83.898.4#48
Other services96.7100.1#46 (tied)
All items91.6100.0#55

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. Grey: the Rest of U.S. rate its counties were paid before it had a table of its own. Sources and caveats; every area since 2016: ten years of locality pay.
Locality pay, %20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Birmingham, AL14.3515.0615.3715.7716.2616.2616.8117.4117.9118.2418.24
Rest of U.S.14.3515.0615.3715.6715.9515.9516.2016.5016.8217.0617.06

Birmingham, AL got a locality pay table of its own in 2019; the grey figures before that are the Rest of U.S. rate its counties were paid.

The 1990 pay law’s formula

The editions checked here, the memos for pay in 2018 to 2026. Formula rate “—”: the memos print none for a Rest of U.S. research area, whose gap is from the memo’s research-area table. 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 area39.9333.2718.24
2025March 2023Locality pay area44.0837.2218.24
2024March 2022Locality pay area42.4235.6417.91
2023March 2021Locality pay area41.5734.8317.41
2022March 2020Locality pay area39.6232.9716.81
2021March 2019Locality pay area41.9735.2116.26
2020March 2018Locality pay area43.6236.7816.26
2019March 2017Locality pay area40.3233.6415.77
2018March 2016Rest of U.S. research area48.50—15.37

Birmingham, AL is a separate locality pay area in the memos from the edition for pay in 2019; before that, in the edition for pay in 2018, it is a Rest of U.S. research area, with a gap of 48.50%.

Federal jobs

15,851 federal civilian jobs in 2025, 464 fewer than in 2024, down 2.84%: table
In this area’s 19 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 2,194 federal jobs in Alabama 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
202316,1152.06$82,477
202416,3152.07$84,894
202515,8512.00$88,940

Counties

19 counties paid at this rate

Alabama, 19 counties

  • Bibb County
  • Blount County
  • Calhoun County
  • Chilton County
  • Clay County (added 2024)
  • Coosa County
  • Cullman County
  • Etowah County (added 2024)
  • Greene County (added 2024)
  • Hale County (added 2024)
  • Jefferson County
  • Pickens County (added 2024)
  • Shelby County
  • St. Clair County
  • Talladega County
  • Tallapoosa County
  • Tuscaloosa County (added 2024)
  • Walker County
  • Winston County (added 2024)
Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.