GS pay scale 2026
Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Harrisburg, PA GS pay scale 2026: 19.43% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $103,497 with 19.43% locality pay; local prices are within 2% of the national average, so at U.S. prices it is worth close to that, $104,913.

#41 on paper, #43 after prices

−2Places lost, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$104,913BEA price level 98.7, for Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA.

Ceiling watch

ClearNo cell reaches $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +4.96 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 38.58%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 31.98%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 11,953
Share of all jobs here: 1.84%
Largest county by federal jobs: Cumberland County, PA: 4,730

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	26,972	27,876	28,773	29,666	30,561	31,085	31,973	32,866	32,903	33,737
GS-2	30,327	31,048	32,054	32,903	33,271	34,249	35,227	36,205	37,183	38,161
GS-3	33,092	34,195	35,299	36,402	37,506	38,609	39,713	40,816	41,920	43,023
GS-4	37,146	38,385	39,623	40,862	42,100	43,339	44,577	45,816	47,054	48,293
GS-5	41,560	42,946	44,331	45,717	47,102	48,487	49,873	51,258	52,644	54,029
GS-6	46,328	47,872	49,417	50,961	52,505	54,049	55,593	57,138	58,682	60,226
GS-7	51,481	53,198	54,914	56,630	58,346	60,063	61,779	63,495	65,211	66,927
GS-8	57,013	58,914	60,814	62,714	64,614	66,514	68,414	70,314	72,215	74,115
GS-9	62,972	65,071	67,171	69,271	71,370	73,470	75,569	77,669	79,768	81,868
GS-10	69,346	71,657	73,968	76,279	78,590	80,901	83,212	85,523	87,834	90,145
GS-11	76,190	78,731	81,271	83,811	86,351	88,892	91,432	93,972	96,513	99,053
GS-12	91,320	94,364	97,408	100,453	103,497	106,541	109,585	112,630	115,674	118,718
GS-13	108,592	112,212	115,832	119,451	123,071	126,691	130,311	133,931	137,551	141,171
GS-14	128,323	132,601	136,879	141,157	145,435	149,713	153,991	158,269	162,547	166,825
GS-15	150,940	155,972	161,004	166,035	171,067	176,098	181,130	186,162	191,193	196,225

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	12.92	13.36	13.79	14.21	14.64	14.89	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	16.38	16.91	17.44	17.97	18.50	19.03	19.56	20.09	20.61
GS-4	17.80	18.39	18.99	19.58	20.17	20.77	21.36	21.95	22.55	23.14
GS-5	19.91	20.58	21.24	21.91	22.57	23.23	23.90	24.56	25.22	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	26.31	27.13	27.96	28.78	29.60	30.42	31.25	32.07
GS-8	27.32	28.23	29.14	30.05	30.96	31.87	32.78	33.69	34.60	35.51
GS-9	30.17	31.18	32.19	33.19	34.20	35.20	36.21	37.22	38.22	39.23
GS-10	33.23	34.33	35.44	36.55	37.66	38.76	39.87	40.98	42.09	43.19
GS-11	36.51	37.72	38.94	40.16	41.38	42.59	43.81	45.03	46.24	47.46
GS-12	43.76	45.22	46.67	48.13	49.59	51.05	52.51	53.97	55.43	56.88
GS-13	52.03	53.77	55.50	57.24	58.97	60.70	62.44	64.17	65.91	67.64
GS-14	61.49	63.54	65.59	67.64	69.69	71.74	73.79	75.84	77.89	79.94
GS-15	72.32	74.74	77.15	79.56	81.97	84.38	86.79	89.20	91.61	94.02

Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,033.60	1,068.80	1,103.20	1,136.80	1,171.20	1,191.20	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	1,310.40	1,352.80	1,395.20	1,437.60	1,480.00	1,522.40	1,564.80	1,607.20	1,648.80
GS-4	1,424.00	1,471.20	1,519.20	1,566.40	1,613.60	1,661.60	1,708.80	1,756.00	1,804.00	1,851.20
GS-5	1,592.80	1,646.40	1,699.20	1,752.80	1,805.60	1,858.40	1,912.00	1,964.80	2,017.60	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	2,104.80	2,170.40	2,236.80	2,302.40	2,368.00	2,433.60	2,500.00	2,565.60
GS-8	2,185.60	2,258.40	2,331.20	2,404.00	2,476.80	2,549.60	2,622.40	2,695.20	2,768.00	2,840.80
GS-9	2,413.60	2,494.40	2,575.20	2,655.20	2,736.00	2,816.00	2,896.80	2,977.60	3,057.60	3,138.40
GS-10	2,658.40	2,746.40	2,835.20	2,924.00	3,012.80	3,100.80	3,189.60	3,278.40	3,367.20	3,455.20
GS-11	2,920.80	3,017.60	3,115.20	3,212.80	3,310.40	3,407.20	3,504.80	3,602.40	3,699.20	3,796.80
GS-12	3,500.80	3,617.60	3,733.60	3,850.40	3,967.20	4,084.00	4,200.80	4,317.60	4,434.40	4,550.40
GS-13	4,162.40	4,301.60	4,440.00	4,579.20	4,717.60	4,856.00	4,995.20	5,133.60	5,272.80	5,411.20
GS-14	4,919.20	5,083.20	5,247.20	5,411.20	5,575.20	5,739.20	5,903.20	6,067.20	6,231.20	6,395.20
GS-15	5,785.60	5,979.20	6,172.00	6,364.80	6,557.60	6,750.40	6,943.20	7,136.00	7,328.80	7,521.60

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

No cell here reaches the $197,200 ceiling, but GS-15 step 10, at $196,225, is $975 short of it, the fourth-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
40	Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY	$102,154	97.0	$105,275
41	Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC	$102,951	97.9	$105,115
42	Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA	$104,658	99.6	$105,114
43	Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA	$103,497	98.7	$104,913
44	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA	$118,264	113.6	$104,137
45	Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA	$109,303	105.4	$103,682
46	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$115,880	111.9	$103,569

Prices here are those of the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area, 98.7. The area’s name also takes in Lebanon: BEA puts the Lebanon, PA metro area at 93.2, and at that level GS-12 step 5 here would buy $111,032.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	100.7	99.6	#18 (tied)
Housing (rent)	96.3	100.6	#34
Utilities	108.1	98.4	#16
Other services	97.7	100.1	#44 (tied)
All items	98.7	100.0	#30

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
Harrisburg, PA	14.47	15.63	16.15	16.65	17.20	17.20	17.90	18.59	19.10	19.43	19.43
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

Harrisburg, PA 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 31.98%, paid 19.43%: 12.55 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	38.58	31.98	19.43
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	45.34	38.42	19.43
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	44.07	37.21	19.10
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	45.50	38.57	18.59
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	45.66	38.72	17.90
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	48.61	41.53	17.20
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	47.07	40.07	17.20
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	46.14	39.18	16.65
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	46.73	39.74	16.15

Federal jobs

In this area’s 6 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 3,883 federal jobs in Pennsylvania 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	12,227	1.91	$83,657
2024	12,308	1.90	$85,251
2025	11,953	1.84	$87,970

Average pay per federal job, overtime included, was $87,970 in 2025, the fourth-lowest of the 58 areas; across all 58 it was $105,058.

Counties

6 counties paid at this rate

Pennsylvania, 6 counties

Cumberland County
Dauphin County
Juniata County (added 2024)
Lancaster County
Lebanon County
Perry County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.