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

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Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH$105,854a year$4,057.60Every two weeks$50.72Per hour$50.97Overtime hour#28On paper#15After prices
  1. GS pay scale 2026
  2. Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Columbus, OH GS pay scale 2026: 22.15% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $105,854 with 22.15% locality pay, and prices below the national average stretch it to what $110,878 buys elsewhere.

#28 on paper, #15 after prices

+13Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$110,878BEA price level 95.5, for Columbus, OH.

Ceiling watch

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

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016
+4.74 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate
45.09%
Rate the 1990 formula would set
38.18%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025
17,369
Share of all jobs here
1.33%
Largest county by federal jobs
Franklin County, OH: 13,304
Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

▲ marks the one cell cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade12345678910
GS-127,58628,51129,42830,34231,25731,79332,70133,61433,65234,505
GS-231,01831,75532,78433,65234,02935,02936,02937,03038,03039,031
GS-333,84534,97436,10337,23138,36039,48940,61741,74642,87544,003
GS-437,99239,25940,52641,79243,05944,32645,59246,85948,12649,393
GS-542,50743,92445,34146,75848,17549,59251,00952,42653,84255,259
GS-647,38348,96350,54252,12153,70155,28056,86058,43960,01861,598
GS-752,65454,40956,16557,92059,67561,43063,18664,94166,69668,452
GS-858,31260,25562,19964,14266,08668,02969,97271,91673,85975,803
GS-964,40666,55368,70170,84872,99675,14377,29079,43881,58583,733
GS-1070,92573,28975,65278,01680,38082,74385,10787,47089,83492,198
GS-1177,92680,52483,12285,72088,31890,91693,51496,11398,711101,309
GS-1293,40096,51399,627102,740105,854108,968112,081115,195118,308121,422
GS-13111,065114,767118,470122,172125,874129,577133,279136,981140,684144,386
GS-14131,245135,621139,996144,372148,747153,122157,498161,873166,249170,624
GS-15154,378159,524164,670169,817174,963180,109185,255190,401195,547197,200
Annual rate divided by 2,087 hours (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)), as in OPM’s hourly table.
Grade12345678910
GS-113.2213.6614.1014.5414.9815.2315.6716.1116.1216.53
GS-214.8615.2215.7116.1216.3116.7817.2617.7418.2218.70
GS-316.2216.7617.3017.8418.3818.9219.4620.0020.5421.08
GS-418.2018.8119.4220.0220.6321.2421.8522.4523.0623.67
GS-520.3721.0521.7322.4023.0823.7624.4425.1225.8026.48
GS-622.7023.4624.2224.9725.7326.4927.2428.0028.7629.52
GS-725.2326.0726.9127.7528.5929.4330.2831.1231.9632.80
GS-827.9428.8729.8030.7331.6732.6033.5334.4635.3936.32
GS-930.8631.8932.9233.9534.9836.0137.0338.0639.0940.12
GS-1033.9835.1236.2537.3838.5139.6540.7841.9143.0444.18
GS-1137.3438.5839.8341.0742.3243.5644.8146.0547.3048.54
GS-1244.7546.2447.7449.2350.7252.2153.7055.2056.6958.18
GS-1353.2254.9956.7758.5460.3162.0963.8665.6467.4169.18
GS-1462.8964.9867.0869.1871.2773.3775.4777.5679.6681.76
GS-1573.9776.4478.9081.3783.8386.3088.7791.2393.7094.49
Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade12345678910
GS-11,057.601,092.801,128.001,163.201,198.401,218.401,253.601,288.801,289.601,322.40
GS-21,188.801,217.601,256.801,289.601,304.801,342.401,380.801,419.201,457.601,496.00
GS-31,297.601,340.801,384.001,427.201,470.401,513.601,556.801,600.001,643.201,686.40
GS-41,456.001,504.801,553.601,601.601,650.401,699.201,748.001,796.001,844.801,893.60
GS-51,629.601,684.001,738.401,792.001,846.401,900.801,955.202,009.602,064.002,118.40
GS-61,816.001,876.801,937.601,997.602,058.402,119.202,179.202,240.002,300.802,361.60
GS-72,018.402,085.602,152.802,220.002,287.202,354.402,422.402,489.602,556.802,624.00
GS-82,235.202,309.602,384.002,458.402,533.602,608.002,682.402,756.802,831.202,905.60
GS-92,468.802,551.202,633.602,716.002,798.402,880.802,962.403,044.803,127.203,209.60
GS-102,718.402,809.602,900.002,990.403,080.803,172.003,262.403,352.803,443.203,534.40
GS-112,987.203,086.403,186.403,285.603,385.603,484.803,584.803,684.003,784.003,883.20
GS-123,580.003,699.203,819.203,938.404,057.604,176.804,296.004,416.004,535.204,654.40
GS-134,257.604,399.204,541.604,683.204,824.804,967.205,108.805,251.205,392.805,534.40
GS-145,031.205,198.405,366.405,534.405,701.605,869.606,037.606,204.806,372.806,540.80
GS-155,917.606,115.206,312.006,509.606,706.406,904.007,101.607,298.407,496.007,559.20
Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-COL, 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
12Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA$102,45791.9$111,474
13Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS$103,09892.5$111,406
14Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA$114,459102.7$111,400
15Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH$105,85495.5$110,878
16Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN$105,66395.4$110,793
17Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV$104,88394.7$110,787
18Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY$106,07995.8$110,679

Here it is goods, not rent, that stand out: at 93.6, they are tied for the lowest of the 57 areas with a price index, with Cleveland, OH and Dayton, OH.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Columbus, OH metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spendingHereU.S.Rank of 57
Goods93.699.6#55 (tied)
Housing (rent)87.9100.6#42
Utilities95.598.4#24
Other services98.9100.1#29 (tied)
All items95.5100.0#42 (tied)

Locality pay since 2016

17.41% in 2016, 22.15% in 2026, up 4.74 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
Columbus, OH17.4118.4918.9719.4720.0220.0220.6921.2721.8022.1522.15
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 area45.0938.1822.15
2025March 2023Locality pay area49.4942.3722.15
2024March 2022Locality pay area47.6440.6121.80
2023March 2021Locality pay area44.8937.9921.27
2022March 2020Locality pay area47.3740.3520.69
2021March 2019Locality pay area49.7242.5920.02
2020March 2018Locality pay area50.1042.9520.02
2019March 2017Locality pay area49.2542.1419.47
2018March 2016Locality pay area47.9640.9118.97

Across the nine editions checked here, the estimate for Columbus, OH has run from 44.89% (for pay in 2023) to 50.10% (for pay in 2020), the fifth-narrowest swing of the 56 areas with a gap in all of them.

Federal jobs

17,369 federal civilian jobs in 2025, 361 fewer than in 2024, down 2.04%: table
In this area’s 23 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 4,004 federal jobs in Ohio 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
202317,1561.35$85,109
202417,7301.38$87,599
202517,3691.33$90,173

Counties

23 counties paid at this rate

Ohio, 23 counties

  • Coshocton County (added 2024)
  • Delaware County
  • Fairfield County
  • Fayette County
  • Franklin County
  • Guernsey County
  • Hardin County (added 2024)
  • Hocking County
  • Knox County
  • Licking County
  • Logan County
  • Madison County
  • Marion County
  • Morgan County (added 2024)
  • Morrow County
  • Muskingum County
  • Noble County (added 2024)
  • Perry County
  • Pickaway County
  • Pike County (added 2024)
  • Ross County
  • Union County
  • Vinton County (added 2024)
Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.