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

This is not a U.S. government website. GS Pay Tables is an independent reference, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or any federal agency.Not affiliated with OPM or any federal agency.

Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT$114,893a year$4,404.00Every two weeks$55.05Per hour$55.34Overtime hour#7On paper#37After prices
  1. GS pay scale 2026
  2. Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Boston, MA GS pay scale 2026: 32.58% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $114,893 with 32.58% locality pay, but prices above the national average cut what it buys to $106,121 at U.S. prices.

#7 on paper, #37 after prices

−30Places lost, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$106,121BEA price level 108.3, for Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.

Ceiling watch

4 of 150cells held to $197,200, from GS-15 step 7.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016
+7.39 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate
69.41%
Rate the 1990 formula would set
61.34%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025
69,558
Share of all jobs here
1.48%
Largest county by federal jobs
Suffolk County, MA: 13,608
Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

▲ marks the 4 cells cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade12345678910
GS-129,94230,94531,94132,93333,92634,50835,49336,48536,52637,451
GS-233,66634,46735,58336,52636,93438,02039,10640,19241,27742,363
GS-336,73537,96039,18540,41041,63542,86044,08645,31146,53647,761
GS-441,23642,61143,98645,36146,73648,11149,48550,86052,23553,610
GS-546,13747,67449,21250,75052,28853,82655,36456,90258,44059,978
GS-651,42953,14354,85856,57258,28660,00061,71563,42965,14366,857
GS-757,15059,05560,96062,86564,77166,67668,58170,48672,39174,297
GS-863,29165,40067,51069,61971,72873,83875,94778,05680,16682,275
GS-969,90572,23674,56776,89879,22881,55983,89086,22188,55290,882
GS-1076,98179,54782,11284,67887,24389,80892,37494,93997,505100,070
GS-1184,57987,39990,21993,03995,85998,679101,499104,319107,139109,959
GS-12101,375104,754108,134111,513114,893118,272121,651125,031128,410131,790
GS-13120,548124,567128,585132,604136,622140,641144,659148,678152,696156,715
GS-14142,452147,201151,950156,699161,448166,197170,946175,695180,444185,193
GS-15167,560173,146178,731184,317189,902195,488197,200197,200197,200197,200
Annual rate divided by 2,087 hours (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)), as in OPM’s hourly table.
Grade12345678910
GS-114.3514.8315.3015.7816.2616.5317.0117.4817.5017.94
GS-216.1316.5217.0517.5017.7018.2218.7419.2619.7820.30
GS-317.6018.1918.7819.3619.9520.5421.1221.7122.3022.89
GS-419.7620.4221.0821.7422.3923.0523.7124.3725.0325.69
GS-522.1122.8423.5824.3225.0525.7926.5327.2628.0028.74
GS-624.6425.4626.2927.1127.9328.7529.5730.3931.2132.03
GS-727.3828.3029.2130.1231.0431.9532.8633.7734.6935.60
GS-830.3331.3432.3533.3634.3735.3836.3937.4038.4139.42
GS-933.5034.6135.7336.8537.9639.0840.2041.3142.4343.55
GS-1036.8938.1239.3440.5741.8043.0344.2645.4946.7247.95
GS-1140.5341.8843.2344.5845.9347.2848.6349.9951.3452.69
GS-1248.5750.1951.8153.4355.0556.6758.2959.9161.5363.15
GS-1357.7659.6961.6163.5465.4667.3969.3171.2473.1775.09
GS-1468.2670.5372.8175.0877.3679.6381.9184.1986.4688.74
GS-1580.2982.9685.6488.3290.9993.6794.4994.4994.4994.49
Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade12345678910
GS-11,148.001,186.401,224.001,262.401,300.801,322.401,360.801,398.401,400.001,435.20
GS-21,290.401,321.601,364.001,400.001,416.001,457.601,499.201,540.801,582.401,624.00
GS-31,408.001,455.201,502.401,548.801,596.001,643.201,689.601,736.801,784.001,831.20
GS-41,580.801,633.601,686.401,739.201,791.201,844.001,896.801,949.602,002.402,055.20
GS-51,768.801,827.201,886.401,945.602,004.002,063.202,122.402,180.802,240.002,299.20
GS-61,971.202,036.802,103.202,168.802,234.402,300.002,365.602,431.202,496.802,562.40
GS-72,190.402,264.002,336.802,409.602,483.202,556.002,628.802,701.602,775.202,848.00
GS-82,426.402,507.202,588.002,668.802,749.602,830.402,911.202,992.003,072.803,153.60
GS-92,680.002,768.802,858.402,948.003,036.803,126.403,216.003,304.803,394.403,484.00
GS-102,951.203,049.603,147.203,245.603,344.003,442.403,540.803,639.203,737.603,836.00
GS-113,242.403,350.403,458.403,566.403,674.403,782.403,890.403,999.204,107.204,215.20
GS-123,885.604,015.204,144.804,274.404,404.004,533.604,663.204,792.804,922.405,052.00
GS-134,620.804,775.204,928.805,083.205,236.805,391.205,544.805,699.205,853.606,007.20
GS-145,460.805,642.405,824.806,006.406,188.806,370.406,552.806,735.206,916.807,099.20
GS-156,423.206,636.806,851.207,065.607,279.207,493.607,559.207,559.207,559.207,559.20
Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-BOS, 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
34Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC$103,70597.3$106,530
35Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX$104,29498.1$106,351
36New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA$119,546112.6$106,204
37Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT$114,893108.3$106,121
38Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI$110,594104.8$105,506
39Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV$112,449106.7$105,418
40Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY$102,15497.0$105,275

Prices here are those of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, 108.3. The area’s name also takes in Providence and Worcester: BEA puts the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area at 101.8 and the Worcester, MA metro area at 102.5, and at those levels GS-12 step 5 here would buy $112,891 and $112,066.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spendingHereU.S.Rank of 57
Goods99.799.6#23 (tied)
Housing (rent)148.4100.6#8
Utilities148.898.4#7
Other services103.6100.1#7
All items108.3100.0#9

Prices here have been rising about as fast as in the country as a whole: BLS consumer prices for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area rose 3.8% in the twelve months to September 2026, against 3.7% for the U.S. city average over the same months.

Locality pay since 2016

25.19% in 2016, 32.58% in 2026, up 7.39 points; Rest of U.S. up 2.71: chart and table
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
Boston, MA25.1926.7327.4828.2729.1129.1130.0931.0531.9732.5832.58
Rest of U.S.14.3515.0615.3715.6715.9515.9516.2016.5016.8217.0617.06

The 1990 pay law’s formula

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 area69.4161.3432.58
2025March 2023Locality pay area75.8367.4632.58
2024March 2022Locality pay area72.6464.4231.97
2023March 2021Locality pay area66.9158.9631.05
2022March 2020Locality pay area66.9458.9930.09
2021March 2019Locality pay area69.7361.6529.11
2020March 2018Locality pay area72.0763.8829.11
2019March 2017Locality pay area72.0463.8528.27
2018March 2016Locality pay area69.6861.6027.48

Pay here is further from the 1990 pay law’s formula than in most areas: the formula would set 61.34%, 28.76 points above the 32.58% paid in 2026, against a median distance of 18.40 points across the 57 areas with a formula rate.

Federal jobs

In this area’s 30 counties and 1 Connecticut planning region, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 3,862 federal jobs in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont 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
202370,1881.50$99,318
202471,4331.52$103,326
202569,5581.48$105,803

No single county holds more than 19.6% of them, the third-smallest such share of the 56 areas with more than one county; the most, 13,608, are in Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

In Connecticut BLS has counted by planning region rather than county since 2024, while OPM still draws its areas by the old counties: each region is counted in the area that holds most of its towns, and 4 of the 9 regions straddle two areas; 182 of this area’s jobs are in such regions.

Counties

31 counties paid at this rate

Connecticut, 1 county

  • Windham County (added 2024)

Maine, 4 counties

  • Androscoggin County
  • Cumberland County
  • Sagadahoc County
  • York County

Massachusetts, 10 counties

  • Barnstable County
  • Bristol County
  • Dukes County (added 2024)
  • Essex County
  • Middlesex County
  • Nantucket County (added 2024)
  • Norfolk County
  • Plymouth County
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County

New Hampshire, 9 counties

  • Belknap County
  • Carroll County (added 2024)
  • Cheshire County (added 2024)
  • Grafton County (added 2024)
  • Hillsborough County
  • Merrimack County
  • Rockingham County
  • Strafford County
  • Sullivan County (added 2024)

Rhode Island, 5 counties

  • Bristol County
  • Kent County
  • Newport County
  • Providence County
  • Washington County

Vermont, 2 counties

  • Orange County (added 2024)
  • Windsor County (added 2024)
Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.

Its counties lie in six states, the most of any area.

It is the only locality pay area in Rhode Island.