GS pay scale 2026
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Charlotte, NC GS pay scale 2026: 19.67% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $103,705 with 19.67% locality pay, and prices below the national average stretch it to what $106,530 buys elsewhere.

#38 on paper, #34 after prices

+4Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$106,530BEA price level 97.3, for Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC.

Ceiling watch

ClearNo cell reaches $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +5.23 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 47.82%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 40.78%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 12,788
Share of all jobs here: 0.81%
Largest county by federal jobs: Mecklenburg County, NC: 5,870

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	27,026	27,932	28,831	29,726	30,622	31,148	32,037	32,932	32,969	33,804
GS-2	30,388	31,111	32,118	32,969	33,338	34,318	35,298	36,278	37,258	38,238
GS-3	33,158	34,264	35,370	36,475	37,581	38,687	39,793	40,898	42,004	43,110
GS-4	37,221	38,462	39,703	40,944	42,185	43,426	44,667	45,908	47,149	48,390
GS-5	41,644	43,032	44,420	45,808	47,197	48,585	49,973	51,361	52,749	54,138
GS-6	46,421	47,969	49,516	51,063	52,611	54,158	55,705	57,253	58,800	60,347
GS-7	51,585	53,305	55,024	56,744	58,464	60,183	61,903	63,623	65,342	67,062
GS-8	57,128	59,032	60,936	62,840	64,744	66,648	68,552	70,456	72,360	74,264
GS-9	63,098	65,202	67,306	69,410	71,514	73,617	75,721	77,825	79,929	82,033
GS-10	69,485	71,801	74,116	76,432	78,748	81,063	83,379	85,694	88,010	90,326
GS-11	76,343	78,889	81,434	83,980	86,525	89,070	91,616	94,161	96,707	99,252
GS-12	91,503	94,554	97,604	100,654	103,705	106,755	109,806	112,856	115,906	118,957
GS-13	108,810	112,437	116,064	119,692	123,319	126,946	130,573	134,200	137,828	141,455
GS-14	128,581	132,867	137,154	141,440	145,727	150,014	154,300	158,587	162,873	167,160
GS-15	151,244	156,285	161,327	166,369	171,411	176,452	181,494	186,536	191,577	196,619

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	12.95	13.38	13.81	14.24	14.67	14.92	15.35	15.78	15.80	16.20
GS-2	14.56	14.91	15.39	15.80	15.97	16.44	16.91	17.38	17.85	18.32
GS-3	15.89	16.42	16.95	17.48	18.01	18.54	19.07	19.60	20.13	20.66
GS-4	17.83	18.43	19.02	19.62	20.21	20.81	21.40	22.00	22.59	23.19
GS-5	19.95	20.62	21.28	21.95	22.61	23.28	23.94	24.61	25.28	25.94
GS-6	22.24	22.98	23.73	24.47	25.21	25.95	26.69	27.43	28.17	28.92
GS-7	24.72	25.54	26.37	27.19	28.01	28.84	29.66	30.49	31.31	32.13
GS-8	27.37	28.29	29.20	30.11	31.02	31.93	32.85	33.76	34.67	35.58
GS-9	30.23	31.24	32.25	33.26	34.27	35.27	36.28	37.29	38.30	39.31
GS-10	33.29	34.40	35.51	36.62	37.73	38.84	39.95	41.06	42.17	43.28
GS-11	36.58	37.80	39.02	40.24	41.46	42.68	43.90	45.12	46.34	47.56
GS-12	43.84	45.31	46.77	48.23	49.69	51.15	52.61	54.08	55.54	57.00
GS-13	52.14	53.87	55.61	57.35	59.09	60.83	62.56	64.30	66.04	67.78
GS-14	61.61	63.66	65.72	67.77	69.83	71.88	73.93	75.99	78.04	80.10
GS-15	72.47	74.89	77.30	79.72	82.13	84.55	86.96	89.38	91.80	94.21

Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,036.00	1,070.40	1,104.80	1,139.20	1,173.60	1,193.60	1,228.00	1,262.40	1,264.00	1,296.00
GS-2	1,164.80	1,192.80	1,231.20	1,264.00	1,277.60	1,315.20	1,352.80	1,390.40	1,428.00	1,465.60
GS-3	1,271.20	1,313.60	1,356.00	1,398.40	1,440.80	1,483.20	1,525.60	1,568.00	1,610.40	1,652.80
GS-4	1,426.40	1,474.40	1,521.60	1,569.60	1,616.80	1,664.80	1,712.00	1,760.00	1,807.20	1,855.20
GS-5	1,596.00	1,649.60	1,702.40	1,756.00	1,808.80	1,862.40	1,915.20	1,968.80	2,022.40	2,075.20
GS-6	1,779.20	1,838.40	1,898.40	1,957.60	2,016.80	2,076.00	2,135.20	2,194.40	2,253.60	2,313.60
GS-7	1,977.60	2,043.20	2,109.60	2,175.20	2,240.80	2,307.20	2,372.80	2,439.20	2,504.80	2,570.40
GS-8	2,189.60	2,263.20	2,336.00	2,408.80	2,481.60	2,554.40	2,628.00	2,700.80	2,773.60	2,846.40
GS-9	2,418.40	2,499.20	2,580.00	2,660.80	2,741.60	2,821.60	2,902.40	2,983.20	3,064.00	3,144.80
GS-10	2,663.20	2,752.00	2,840.80	2,929.60	3,018.40	3,107.20	3,196.00	3,284.80	3,373.60	3,462.40
GS-11	2,926.40	3,024.00	3,121.60	3,219.20	3,316.80	3,414.40	3,512.00	3,609.60	3,707.20	3,804.80
GS-12	3,507.20	3,624.80	3,741.60	3,858.40	3,975.20	4,092.00	4,208.80	4,326.40	4,443.20	4,560.00
GS-13	4,171.20	4,309.60	4,448.80	4,588.00	4,727.20	4,866.40	5,004.80	5,144.00	5,283.20	5,422.40
GS-14	4,928.80	5,092.80	5,257.60	5,421.60	5,586.40	5,750.40	5,914.40	6,079.20	6,243.20	6,408.00
GS-15	5,797.60	5,991.20	6,184.00	6,377.60	6,570.40	6,764.00	6,956.80	7,150.40	7,344.00	7,536.80

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

No cell here reaches the $197,200 ceiling, but GS-15 step 10, at $196,619, is $581 short of it, the 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
31	Denver-Aurora, CO	$113,107	105.8	$106,925
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

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	96.6	99.6	#33 (tied)
Housing (rent)	97.6	100.6	#31
Utilities	89.2	98.4	#39 (tied)
Other services	98.2	100.1	#39 (tied)
All items	97.3	100.0	#36

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
Charlotte, NC	14.44	15.65	16.21	16.79	17.44	17.44	18.06	18.63	19.26	19.67	19.67
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

Charlotte, NC 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 40.78%, paid 19.67%: 21.11 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	47.82	40.78	19.67
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	50.28	43.12	19.67
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	48.58	41.50	19.26
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	41.91	35.15	18.63
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	43.08	36.27	18.06
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	47.62	40.59	17.44
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	51.60	44.38	17.44
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	50.13	42.98	16.79
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	49.11	42.01	16.21

Federal jobs

In this area’s 18 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 9,240 federal jobs in North Carolina and South Carolina 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	11,832	0.76	$88,404
2024	12,646	0.81	$91,387
2025	12,788	0.81	$94,224

Federal jobs of every pay system are 0.81% of all jobs here, the lowest share of the 58 areas; just above it is Rochester, NY (0.90%).

Federal jobs here grew from 2024 to 2025, 142 more than in 2024, up 1.12%, in one of only three areas where they did not fall.

Counties

18 counties paid at this rate

North Carolina, 14 counties

Alexander County (added 2024)
Anson County (added 2024)
Burke County (added 2024)
Cabarrus County
Caldwell County (added 2024)
Catawba County (added 2024)
Cleveland County
Gaston County
Iredell County
Lincoln County
Mecklenburg County
Rowan County
Stanly County
Union County

South Carolina, 4 counties

Chester County
Chesterfield County (added 2024)
Lancaster County
York County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.