GS pay scale 2026
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Des Moines, IA GS pay scale 2026: 18.01% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $102,266 with 18.01% locality pay, and prices below the national average stretch it to what $111,521 buys elsewhere.

#51 on paper, #11 after prices

+40Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$111,521BEA price level 91.7, for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA.

Ceiling watch

ClearNo cell reaches $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +3.66 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 42.32%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 35.54%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 8,348
Share of all jobs here: 1.61%
Largest county by federal jobs: Polk County, IA: 6,503

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	26,651	27,545	28,431	29,314	30,198	30,716	31,592	32,475	32,512	33,335
GS-2	29,966	30,679	31,673	32,512	32,875	33,842	34,808	35,775	36,741	37,708
GS-3	32,698	33,789	34,879	35,969	37,060	38,150	39,241	40,331	41,422	42,512
GS-4	36,705	37,928	39,152	40,376	41,600	42,823	44,047	45,271	46,495	47,719
GS-5	41,066	42,435	43,804	45,173	46,542	47,911	49,280	50,649	52,018	53,387
GS-6	45,777	47,303	48,829	50,355	51,881	53,407	54,932	56,458	57,984	59,510
GS-7	50,869	52,565	54,261	55,957	57,653	59,348	61,044	62,740	64,436	66,132
GS-8	56,336	58,213	60,091	61,968	63,846	65,723	67,601	69,478	71,356	73,233
GS-9	62,223	64,298	66,372	68,447	70,522	72,596	74,671	76,745	78,820	80,895
GS-10	68,521	70,805	73,088	75,372	77,655	79,939	82,222	84,506	86,789	89,073
GS-11	75,284	77,795	80,305	82,815	85,325	87,835	90,345	92,855	95,365	97,875
GS-12	90,234	93,242	96,250	99,258	102,266	105,274	108,282	111,291	114,299	117,307
GS-13	107,301	110,877	114,454	118,031	121,608	125,185	128,762	132,339	135,916	139,493
GS-14	126,797	131,024	135,251	139,478	143,705	147,933	152,160	156,387	160,614	164,841
GS-15	149,146	154,118	159,089	164,061	169,033	174,005	178,976	183,948	188,920	193,892

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	12.77	13.20	13.62	14.05	14.47	14.72	15.14	15.56	15.58	15.97
GS-2	14.36	14.70	15.18	15.58	15.75	16.22	16.68	17.14	17.60	18.07
GS-3	15.67	16.19	16.71	17.23	17.76	18.28	18.80	19.32	19.85	20.37
GS-4	17.59	18.17	18.76	19.35	19.93	20.52	21.11	21.69	22.28	22.86
GS-5	19.68	20.33	20.99	21.64	22.30	22.96	23.61	24.27	24.92	25.58
GS-6	21.93	22.67	23.40	24.13	24.86	25.59	26.32	27.05	27.78	28.51
GS-7	24.37	25.19	26.00	26.81	27.62	28.44	29.25	30.06	30.87	31.69
GS-8	26.99	27.89	28.79	29.69	30.59	31.49	32.39	33.29	34.19	35.09
GS-9	29.81	30.81	31.80	32.80	33.79	34.78	35.78	36.77	37.77	38.76
GS-10	32.83	33.93	35.02	36.11	37.21	38.30	39.40	40.49	41.59	42.68
GS-11	36.07	37.28	38.48	39.68	40.88	42.09	43.29	44.49	45.69	46.90
GS-12	43.24	44.68	46.12	47.56	49.00	50.44	51.88	53.33	54.77	56.21
GS-13	51.41	53.13	54.84	56.56	58.27	59.98	61.70	63.41	65.13	66.84
GS-14	60.76	62.78	64.81	66.83	68.86	70.88	72.91	74.93	76.96	78.98
GS-15	71.46	73.85	76.23	78.61	80.99	83.38	85.76	88.14	90.52	92.90

Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,021.60	1,056.00	1,089.60	1,124.00	1,157.60	1,177.60	1,211.20	1,244.80	1,246.40	1,277.60
GS-2	1,148.80	1,176.00	1,214.40	1,246.40	1,260.00	1,297.60	1,334.40	1,371.20	1,408.00	1,445.60
GS-3	1,253.60	1,295.20	1,336.80	1,378.40	1,420.80	1,462.40	1,504.00	1,545.60	1,588.00	1,629.60
GS-4	1,407.20	1,453.60	1,500.80	1,548.00	1,594.40	1,641.60	1,688.80	1,735.20	1,782.40	1,828.80
GS-5	1,574.40	1,626.40	1,679.20	1,731.20	1,784.00	1,836.80	1,888.80	1,941.60	1,993.60	2,046.40
GS-6	1,754.40	1,813.60	1,872.00	1,930.40	1,988.80	2,047.20	2,105.60	2,164.00	2,222.40	2,280.80
GS-7	1,949.60	2,015.20	2,080.00	2,144.80	2,209.60	2,275.20	2,340.00	2,404.80	2,469.60	2,535.20
GS-8	2,159.20	2,231.20	2,303.20	2,375.20	2,447.20	2,519.20	2,591.20	2,663.20	2,735.20	2,807.20
GS-9	2,384.80	2,464.80	2,544.00	2,624.00	2,703.20	2,782.40	2,862.40	2,941.60	3,021.60	3,100.80
GS-10	2,626.40	2,714.40	2,801.60	2,888.80	2,976.80	3,064.00	3,152.00	3,239.20	3,327.20	3,414.40
GS-11	2,885.60	2,982.40	3,078.40	3,174.40	3,270.40	3,367.20	3,463.20	3,559.20	3,655.20	3,752.00
GS-12	3,459.20	3,574.40	3,689.60	3,804.80	3,920.00	4,035.20	4,150.40	4,266.40	4,381.60	4,496.80
GS-13	4,112.80	4,250.40	4,387.20	4,524.80	4,661.60	4,798.40	4,936.00	5,072.80	5,210.40	5,347.20
GS-14	4,860.80	5,022.40	5,184.80	5,346.40	5,508.80	5,670.40	5,832.80	5,994.40	6,156.80	6,318.40
GS-15	5,716.80	5,908.00	6,098.40	6,288.80	6,479.20	6,670.40	6,860.80	7,051.20	7,241.60	7,432.00

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

After local prices

Its neighbors by what it buys (how; all 57).
#	Locality	On paper	Price level	What it buys
8	State of Alaska	$114,702	102.4	$112,059
9	Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL	$102,466	91.6	$111,809
10	Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI	$111,894	100.3	$111,562
11	Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA	$102,266	91.7	$111,521
12	Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA	$102,457	91.9	$111,474
13	Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS	$103,098	92.5	$111,406
14	Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA	$114,459	102.7	$111,400

Prices here are those of the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area, 91.7. The area’s name also takes in Ames: BEA puts the Ames, IA metro area at 88.8, and at that level GS-12 step 5 here would buy $115,126.

It ranks #51 on paper and #11 once local prices are counted, a gain of 40 places, the second-biggest of the 57 areas.

Here it is other services, not rent, that stand out: at 92.9, they are the lowest of the 57 areas with a price index.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	93.7	99.6	#54
Housing (rent)	84.7	100.6	#48
Utilities	84.6	98.4	#46
Other services	92.9	100.1	#57
All items	91.7	100.0	#54

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
Des Moines, IA	14.35	15.06	15.37	15.67	15.95	15.95	16.52	17.13	17.68	18.01	18.01
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

Des Moines, IA got a locality pay table of its own in 2021; 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 in	Data as of	Listed as	Pay gap, %	Formula rate, %	Rate paid that year, %
2026	March 2024	Locality pay area	42.32	35.54	18.01
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	43.90	37.05	18.01
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	44.04	37.18	17.68
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	41.53	34.79	17.13
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	39.97	33.30	16.52
2021	March 2019	Proposed locality pay area	43.23	36.41	15.95
2020	March 2018	Rest of U.S. research area	44.71	—	15.95
2019	March 2017	Rest of U.S. research area	46.53	—	15.67
2018	March 2016	Rest of U.S. research area	43.00	—	15.37

Des Moines, IA is a separate locality pay area in the memos from the edition for pay in 2021; before that, in three editions it is a Rest of U.S. research area, with a gap of 43.00% to 46.53%.

Federal jobs

8,348 federal civilian jobs in 2025, 216 fewer than in 2024, down 2.52%: table

In this area’s 17 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 22 federal jobs in Iowa 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	8,370	1.63	$83,300
2024	8,564	1.64	$86,749
2025	8,348	1.61	$89,903

Counties

17 counties paid at this rate

Iowa, 17 counties

Adair County (added 2024)
Boone County
Clarke County (added 2024)
Dallas County
Greene County (added 2024)
Guthrie County
Hamilton County (added 2024)
Jasper County
Lucas County (added 2024)
Madison County
Mahaska County (added 2024)
Marion County (added 2024)
Monroe County (added 2024)
Polk County
Poweshiek County (added 2024)
Story County
Warren County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.