GS pay scale 2026
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Fresno, CA GS pay scale 2026: 17.65% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $101,954 with 17.65% locality pay, but prices above the national average cut what it buys to $99,800 at U.S. prices.

#55 on paper, #55 after prices

No changeSame place, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$99,800BEA price level 102.2, for Fresno, CA.

Ceiling watch

ClearNo cell reaches $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +3.30 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 51.24%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 44.04%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 12,449
Share of all jobs here: 1.73%
Largest county by federal jobs: Fresno County, CA: 9,376

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	26,570	27,461	28,344	29,224	30,105	30,622	31,496	32,376	32,413	33,234
GS-2	29,875	30,585	31,576	32,413	32,775	33,738	34,702	35,666	36,629	37,593
GS-3	32,598	33,686	34,773	35,860	36,947	38,034	39,121	40,208	41,295	42,382
GS-4	36,593	37,813	39,033	40,253	41,473	42,693	43,913	45,133	46,353	47,573
GS-5	40,941	42,306	43,671	45,035	46,400	47,765	49,129	50,494	51,859	53,224
GS-6	45,638	47,159	48,680	50,201	51,722	53,244	54,765	56,286	57,807	59,329
GS-7	50,714	52,405	54,095	55,786	57,477	59,167	60,858	62,549	64,239	65,930
GS-8	56,164	58,036	59,907	61,779	63,651	65,523	67,395	69,266	71,138	73,010
GS-9	62,033	64,102	66,170	68,238	70,306	72,375	74,443	76,511	78,580	80,648
GS-10	68,312	70,589	72,865	75,142	77,418	79,695	81,971	84,248	86,525	88,801
GS-11	75,055	77,557	80,060	82,562	85,064	87,567	90,069	92,572	95,074	97,577
GS-12	89,959	92,958	95,957	98,955	101,954	104,953	107,952	110,951	113,950	116,949
GS-13	106,973	110,539	114,105	117,671	121,237	124,803	128,369	131,935	135,501	139,067
GS-14	126,410	130,624	134,839	139,053	143,267	147,481	151,696	155,910	160,124	164,338
GS-15	148,691	153,647	158,604	163,561	168,517	173,474	178,430	183,387	188,344	193,300

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	12.73	13.16	13.58	14.00	14.43	14.67	15.09	15.51	15.53	15.92
GS-2	14.31	14.66	15.13	15.53	15.70	16.17	16.63	17.09	17.55	18.01
GS-3	15.62	16.14	16.66	17.18	17.70	18.22	18.75	19.27	19.79	20.31
GS-4	17.53	18.12	18.70	19.29	19.87	20.46	21.04	21.63	22.21	22.79
GS-5	19.62	20.27	20.93	21.58	22.23	22.89	23.54	24.19	24.85	25.50
GS-6	21.87	22.60	23.33	24.05	24.78	25.51	26.24	26.97	27.70	28.43
GS-7	24.30	25.11	25.92	26.73	27.54	28.35	29.16	29.97	30.78	31.59
GS-8	26.91	27.81	28.70	29.60	30.50	31.40	32.29	33.19	34.09	34.98
GS-9	29.72	30.71	31.71	32.70	33.69	34.68	35.67	36.66	37.65	38.64
GS-10	32.73	33.82	34.91	36.00	37.10	38.19	39.28	40.37	41.46	42.55
GS-11	35.96	37.16	38.36	39.56	40.76	41.96	43.16	44.36	45.56	46.75
GS-12	43.10	44.54	45.98	47.41	48.85	50.29	51.73	53.16	54.60	56.04
GS-13	51.26	52.97	54.67	56.38	58.09	59.80	61.51	63.22	64.93	66.63
GS-14	60.57	62.59	64.61	66.63	68.65	70.67	72.69	74.71	76.72	78.74
GS-15	71.25	73.62	76.00	78.37	80.75	83.12	85.50	87.87	90.25	92.62

Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,018.40	1,052.80	1,086.40	1,120.00	1,154.40	1,173.60	1,207.20	1,240.80	1,242.40	1,273.60
GS-2	1,144.80	1,172.80	1,210.40	1,242.40	1,256.00	1,293.60	1,330.40	1,367.20	1,404.00	1,440.80
GS-3	1,249.60	1,291.20	1,332.80	1,374.40	1,416.00	1,457.60	1,500.00	1,541.60	1,583.20	1,624.80
GS-4	1,402.40	1,449.60	1,496.00	1,543.20	1,589.60	1,636.80	1,683.20	1,730.40	1,776.80	1,823.20
GS-5	1,569.60	1,621.60	1,674.40	1,726.40	1,778.40	1,831.20	1,883.20	1,935.20	1,988.00	2,040.00
GS-6	1,749.60	1,808.00	1,866.40	1,924.00	1,982.40	2,040.80	2,099.20	2,157.60	2,216.00	2,274.40
GS-7	1,944.00	2,008.80	2,073.60	2,138.40	2,203.20	2,268.00	2,332.80	2,397.60	2,462.40	2,527.20
GS-8	2,152.80	2,224.80	2,296.00	2,368.00	2,440.00	2,512.00	2,583.20	2,655.20	2,727.20	2,798.40
GS-9	2,377.60	2,456.80	2,536.80	2,616.00	2,695.20	2,774.40	2,853.60	2,932.80	3,012.00	3,091.20
GS-10	2,618.40	2,705.60	2,792.80	2,880.00	2,968.00	3,055.20	3,142.40	3,229.60	3,316.80	3,404.00
GS-11	2,876.80	2,972.80	3,068.80	3,164.80	3,260.80	3,356.80	3,452.80	3,548.80	3,644.80	3,740.00
GS-12	3,448.00	3,563.20	3,678.40	3,792.80	3,908.00	4,023.20	4,138.40	4,252.80	4,368.00	4,483.20
GS-13	4,100.80	4,237.60	4,373.60	4,510.40	4,647.20	4,784.00	4,920.80	5,057.60	5,194.40	5,330.40
GS-14	4,845.60	5,007.20	5,168.80	5,330.40	5,492.00	5,653.60	5,815.20	5,976.80	6,137.60	6,299.20
GS-15	5,700.00	5,889.60	6,080.00	6,269.60	6,460.00	6,649.60	6,840.00	7,029.60	7,220.00	7,409.60

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-FN, 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
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
55	Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA	$101,954	102.2	$99,800
56	State of Hawaii	$105,906	110.0	$96,321
57	Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL	$108,038	114.2	$94,641

Prices here are those of the Fresno, CA metro area, 102.2. The area’s name also takes in Hanford: BEA puts the Hanford-Corcoran, CA metro area at 101.6, and at that level GS-12 step 5 here would buy $100,337.

Rent is not what makes prices here higher overall: BEA puts housing 4.9% below the U.S. level, at 95.7, and all prices together, at 102.2, are 2.2% above 100; of the other kinds, utilities, at 161.0, stand furthest above the U.S. level.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Fresno, CA metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	105.2	99.6	#7 (tied)
Housing (rent)	95.7	100.6	#35
Utilities	161.0	98.4	#3
Other services	100.3	100.1	#16 (tied)
All items	102.2	100.0	#20

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
Fresno, CA	14.35	15.06	15.37	15.67	15.95	15.95	16.20	16.50	17.15	17.65	17.65
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

Fresno, CA got a locality pay table of its own in 2024; 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	51.24	44.04	17.65
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	53.40	46.10	17.65
2024	March 2022	Proposed locality pay area	46.90	39.90	17.15
2023	March 2021	Rest of U.S. research area	45.35	—	16.50
2022	March 2020	Rest of U.S. research area	40.70	—	16.20
2021	March 2019	Rest of U.S. research area	40.71	—	15.95
2020	March 2018	Rest of U.S. research area	38.56	—	15.95
2019	March 2017	Rest of U.S. research area	40.20	—	15.67
2018	March 2016	Rest of U.S. research area	38.21	—	15.37

Since the edition for pay in 2018, the first checked here, the estimate for Fresno, CA has risen 13.03 points, from 38.21% to 51.24%, the biggest rise of the 56 areas with a gap in all nine editions.

Fresno, CA is a separate locality pay area in the memos from the edition for pay in 2024; before that, in six editions it is a Rest of U.S. research area, with a gap of 38.21% to 45.35%.

Federal jobs

In this area’s 5 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 9,710 federal jobs in California 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	12,721	1.81	$77,276
2024	12,932	1.80	$80,156
2025	12,449	1.73	$83,936

Average pay per federal job, overtime included, was $83,936 in 2025, the lowest of the 58 areas; across all 58 it was $105,058.

Counties

5 counties paid at this rate

California, 5 counties

Fresno County
Kings County
Madera County
Mariposa County
Tulare County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.