GS pay scale 2026
Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Burlington, VT GS pay scale 2026: 19.45% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $103,514 with 19.45% locality pay; local prices are within 2% of the national average, so at U.S. prices it is worth close to that, $102,541.

#40 on paper, #51 after prices

−11Places lost, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$102,541BEA price level 100.9, for Burlington-South Burlington, VT.

Ceiling watch

ClearNo cell reaches $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +5.10 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 49.87%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 42.73%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 4,037
Share of all jobs here: 2.21%
Largest county by federal jobs: Chittenden County, VT: 3,001

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	26,977	27,881	28,778	29,671	30,566	31,090	31,978	32,871	32,908	33,742
GS-2	30,332	31,053	32,059	32,908	33,276	34,255	35,233	36,211	37,190	38,168
GS-3	33,097	34,201	35,305	36,408	37,512	38,616	39,720	40,823	41,927	43,031
GS-4	37,153	38,391	39,630	40,869	42,107	43,346	44,585	45,823	47,062	48,301
GS-5	41,567	42,953	44,339	45,724	47,110	48,496	49,881	51,267	52,652	54,038
GS-6	46,336	47,880	49,425	50,969	52,514	54,058	55,603	57,147	58,692	60,236
GS-7	51,490	53,207	54,923	56,640	58,356	60,073	61,789	63,506	65,222	66,939
GS-8	57,023	58,923	60,824	62,724	64,625	66,525	68,426	70,326	72,227	74,127
GS-9	62,982	65,082	67,182	69,282	71,382	73,482	75,582	77,682	79,782	81,882
GS-10	69,357	71,669	73,980	76,292	78,603	80,914	83,226	85,537	87,848	90,160
GS-11	76,203	78,744	81,285	83,825	86,366	88,907	91,447	93,988	96,529	99,069
GS-12	91,335	94,380	97,425	100,469	103,514	106,559	109,604	112,649	115,693	118,738
GS-13	108,610	112,230	115,851	119,472	123,092	126,713	130,333	133,954	137,574	141,195
GS-14	128,344	132,623	136,902	141,180	145,459	149,738	154,016	158,295	162,574	166,853
GS-15	150,966	155,998	161,031	166,063	171,095	176,128	181,160	186,193	191,225	196,258

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	12.93	13.36	13.79	14.22	14.65	14.90	15.32	15.75	15.77	16.17
GS-2	14.53	14.88	15.36	15.77	15.94	16.41	16.88	17.35	17.82	18.29
GS-3	15.86	16.39	16.92	17.45	17.97	18.50	19.03	19.56	20.09	20.62
GS-4	17.80	18.40	18.99	19.58	20.18	20.77	21.36	21.96	22.55	23.14
GS-5	19.92	20.58	21.25	21.91	22.57	23.24	23.90	24.56	25.23	25.89
GS-6	22.20	22.94	23.68	24.42	25.16	25.90	26.64	27.38	28.12	28.86
GS-7	24.67	25.49	26.32	27.14	27.96	28.78	29.61	30.43	31.25	32.07
GS-8	27.32	28.23	29.14	30.05	30.97	31.88	32.79	33.70	34.61	35.52
GS-9	30.18	31.18	32.19	33.20	34.20	35.21	36.22	37.22	38.23	39.23
GS-10	33.23	34.34	35.45	36.56	37.66	38.77	39.88	40.99	42.09	43.20
GS-11	36.51	37.73	38.95	40.17	41.38	42.60	43.82	45.03	46.25	47.47
GS-12	43.76	45.22	46.68	48.14	49.60	51.06	52.52	53.98	55.44	56.89
GS-13	52.04	53.78	55.51	57.25	58.98	60.72	62.45	64.18	65.92	67.65
GS-14	61.50	63.55	65.60	67.65	69.70	71.75	73.80	75.85	77.90	79.95
GS-15	72.34	74.75	77.16	79.57	81.98	84.39	86.80	89.22	91.63	94.04

Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,034.40	1,068.80	1,103.20	1,137.60	1,172.00	1,192.00	1,225.60	1,260.00	1,261.60	1,293.60
GS-2	1,162.40	1,190.40	1,228.80	1,261.60	1,275.20	1,312.80	1,350.40	1,388.00	1,425.60	1,463.20
GS-3	1,268.80	1,311.20	1,353.60	1,396.00	1,437.60	1,480.00	1,522.40	1,564.80	1,607.20	1,649.60
GS-4	1,424.00	1,472.00	1,519.20	1,566.40	1,614.40	1,661.60	1,708.80	1,756.80	1,804.00	1,851.20
GS-5	1,593.60	1,646.40	1,700.00	1,752.80	1,805.60	1,859.20	1,912.00	1,964.80	2,018.40	2,071.20
GS-6	1,776.00	1,835.20	1,894.40	1,953.60	2,012.80	2,072.00	2,131.20	2,190.40	2,249.60	2,308.80
GS-7	1,973.60	2,039.20	2,105.60	2,171.20	2,236.80	2,302.40	2,368.80	2,434.40	2,500.00	2,565.60
GS-8	2,185.60	2,258.40	2,331.20	2,404.00	2,477.60	2,550.40	2,623.20	2,696.00	2,768.80	2,841.60
GS-9	2,414.40	2,494.40	2,575.20	2,656.00	2,736.00	2,816.80	2,897.60	2,977.60	3,058.40	3,138.40
GS-10	2,658.40	2,747.20	2,836.00	2,924.80	3,012.80	3,101.60	3,190.40	3,279.20	3,367.20	3,456.00
GS-11	2,920.80	3,018.40	3,116.00	3,213.60	3,310.40	3,408.00	3,505.60	3,602.40	3,700.00	3,797.60
GS-12	3,500.80	3,617.60	3,734.40	3,851.20	3,968.00	4,084.80	4,201.60	4,318.40	4,435.20	4,551.20
GS-13	4,163.20	4,302.40	4,440.80	4,580.00	4,718.40	4,857.60	4,996.00	5,134.40	5,273.60	5,412.00
GS-14	4,920.00	5,084.00	5,248.00	5,412.00	5,576.00	5,740.00	5,904.00	6,068.00	6,232.00	6,396.00
GS-15	5,787.20	5,980.00	6,172.80	6,365.60	6,558.40	6,751.20	6,944.00	7,137.60	7,330.40	7,523.20

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-BN, matched cell by cell; compare with Rest of U.S..

No cell here reaches the $197,200 ceiling, but GS-15 step 10, at $196,258, is $942 short of it, the third-closest of the 21 areas whose rates all stay below it.

After local prices

Its neighbors by what it buys (how; all 57).
#	Locality	On paper	Price level	What it buys
48	Colorado Springs, CO	$104,121	100.7	$103,390
49	Phoenix-Mesa, AZ	$106,114	103.3	$102,708
50	Seattle-Tacoma, WA	$114,017	111.1	$102,595
51	Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT	$103,514	100.9	$102,541
52	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL	$102,197	100.0	$102,192
53	Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID	$101,972	100.3	$101,620
54	Reno-Fernley, NV	$101,842	101.0	$100,820

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	97.3	99.6	#28 (tied)
Housing (rent)	103.8	100.6	#26
Utilities	125.6	98.4	#13
Other services	101.6	100.1	#14
All items	100.9	100.0	#22

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. 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, %	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
Burlington, VT	14.35	15.06	15.37	16.18	16.89	16.89	17.62	18.31	18.97	19.45	19.45
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

Burlington, VT 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

Formula 42.73%, paid 19.45%: 23.28 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	49.87	42.73	19.45
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	54.28	46.93	19.45
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	49.32	42.21	18.97
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	45.16	38.25	18.31
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	46.23	39.27	17.62
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	50.42	43.26	16.89
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	53.92	46.59	16.89
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	60.46	52.82	16.18
2018	March 2016	Proposed locality pay area	62.16	54.44	15.37

Federal jobs

In this area’s 6 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 255 federal jobs in 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.
Year	Federal civilian jobs	Share of all jobs, %	Average pay per job
2023	4,027	2.21	$94,903
2024	4,003	2.18	$102,504
2025	4,037	2.21	$106,264

Its 4,037 federal civilian jobs in 2025, the Postal Service included, are the smallest federal workforce of the 58 areas; just above it is Laredo, TX (4,440).

Federal jobs here grew from 2024 to 2025, 34 more than in 2024, up 0.85%, in one of only three areas where they did not fall.

Counties

6 counties paid at this rate

Vermont, 6 counties

Addison County (added 2024)
Chittenden County
Franklin County
Grand Isle County
Lamoille County (added 2024)
Washington County (added 2024)

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.