GS pay scale 2026
Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Hartford, CT GS pay scale 2026: 32.08% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $114,459 with 32.08% locality pay, but prices above the national average cut what it buys to $111,400 at U.S. prices.

#9 on paper, #14 after prices

−5Places lost, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$111,400BEA price level 102.7, for Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT.

Ceiling watch

4 of 150cells held to $197,200, from GS-15 step 7.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +5.88 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 58.79%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 51.23%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 13,642
Share of all jobs here: 1.33%
Largest county by federal jobs: Capitol Planning Region, CT: 5,299

Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

A yearAn hourEvery two weeks

▲ marks the 4 cells cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	29,829	30,829	31,821	32,809	33,798	34,378	35,359	36,347	36,388	37,310
GS-2	33,539	34,337	35,449	36,388	36,795	37,877	38,958	40,040	41,122	42,204
GS-3	36,597	37,817	39,038	40,258	41,478	42,699	43,919	45,140	46,360	47,580
GS-4	41,081	42,451	43,820	45,190	46,560	47,929	49,299	50,669	52,038	53,408
GS-5	45,963	47,495	49,027	50,559	52,091	53,623	55,155	56,687	58,220	59,752
GS-6	51,235	52,943	54,651	56,359	58,066	59,774	61,482	63,190	64,898	66,605
GS-7	56,934	58,832	60,730	62,628	64,526	66,424	68,322	70,220	72,118	74,016
GS-8	63,052	65,154	67,255	69,357	71,458	73,559	75,661	77,762	79,863	81,965
GS-9	69,642	71,964	74,286	76,608	78,930	81,252	83,574	85,896	88,218	90,540
GS-10	76,691	79,247	81,802	84,358	86,914	89,470	92,025	94,581	97,137	99,693
GS-11	84,260	87,070	89,879	92,688	95,498	98,307	101,116	103,926	106,735	109,545
GS-12	100,992	104,359	107,726	111,092	114,459	117,826	121,193	124,559	127,926	131,293
GS-13	120,094	124,097	128,100	132,104	136,107	140,110	144,114	148,117	152,120	156,124
GS-14	141,915	146,646	151,377	156,108	160,839	165,570	170,301	175,032	179,764	184,495
GS-15	166,928	172,493	178,057	183,622	189,186	194,751	197,200	197,200	197,200	197,200

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	14.29	14.77	15.25	15.72	16.19	16.47	16.94	17.42	17.44	17.88
GS-2	16.07	16.45	16.99	17.44	17.63	18.15	18.67	19.19	19.70	20.22
GS-3	17.54	18.12	18.71	19.29	19.87	20.46	21.04	21.63	22.21	22.80
GS-4	19.68	20.34	21.00	21.65	22.31	22.97	23.62	24.28	24.93	25.59
GS-5	22.02	22.76	23.49	24.23	24.96	25.69	26.43	27.16	27.90	28.63
GS-6	24.55	25.37	26.19	27.00	27.82	28.64	29.46	30.28	31.10	31.91
GS-7	27.28	28.19	29.10	30.01	30.92	31.83	32.74	33.65	34.56	35.47
GS-8	30.21	31.22	32.23	33.23	34.24	35.25	36.25	37.26	38.27	39.27
GS-9	33.37	34.48	35.59	36.71	37.82	38.93	40.05	41.16	42.27	43.38
GS-10	36.75	37.97	39.20	40.42	41.65	42.87	44.09	45.32	46.54	47.77
GS-11	40.37	41.72	43.07	44.41	45.76	47.10	48.45	49.80	51.14	52.49
GS-12	48.39	50.00	51.62	53.23	54.84	56.46	58.07	59.68	61.30	62.91
GS-13	57.54	59.46	61.38	63.30	65.22	67.13	69.05	70.97	72.89	74.81
GS-14	68.00	70.27	72.53	74.80	77.07	79.33	81.60	83.87	86.14	88.40
GS-15	79.98	82.65	85.32	87.98	90.65	93.32	94.49	94.49	94.49	94.49

Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,143.20	1,181.60	1,220.00	1,257.60	1,295.20	1,317.60	1,355.20	1,393.60	1,395.20	1,430.40
GS-2	1,285.60	1,316.00	1,359.20	1,395.20	1,410.40	1,452.00	1,493.60	1,535.20	1,576.00	1,617.60
GS-3	1,403.20	1,449.60	1,496.80	1,543.20	1,589.60	1,636.80	1,683.20	1,730.40	1,776.80	1,824.00
GS-4	1,574.40	1,627.20	1,680.00	1,732.00	1,784.80	1,837.60	1,889.60	1,942.40	1,994.40	2,047.20
GS-5	1,761.60	1,820.80	1,879.20	1,938.40	1,996.80	2,055.20	2,114.40	2,172.80	2,232.00	2,290.40
GS-6	1,964.00	2,029.60	2,095.20	2,160.00	2,225.60	2,291.20	2,356.80	2,422.40	2,488.00	2,552.80
GS-7	2,182.40	2,255.20	2,328.00	2,400.80	2,473.60	2,546.40	2,619.20	2,692.00	2,764.80	2,837.60
GS-8	2,416.80	2,497.60	2,578.40	2,658.40	2,739.20	2,820.00	2,900.00	2,980.80	3,061.60	3,141.60
GS-9	2,669.60	2,758.40	2,847.20	2,936.80	3,025.60	3,114.40	3,204.00	3,292.80	3,381.60	3,470.40
GS-10	2,940.00	3,037.60	3,136.00	3,233.60	3,332.00	3,429.60	3,527.20	3,625.60	3,723.20	3,821.60
GS-11	3,229.60	3,337.60	3,445.60	3,552.80	3,660.80	3,768.00	3,876.00	3,984.00	4,091.20	4,199.20
GS-12	3,871.20	4,000.00	4,129.60	4,258.40	4,387.20	4,516.80	4,645.60	4,774.40	4,904.00	5,032.80
GS-13	4,603.20	4,756.80	4,910.40	5,064.00	5,217.60	5,370.40	5,524.00	5,677.60	5,831.20	5,984.80
GS-14	5,440.00	5,621.60	5,802.40	5,984.00	6,165.60	6,346.40	6,528.00	6,709.60	6,891.20	7,072.00
GS-15	6,398.40	6,612.00	6,825.60	7,038.40	7,252.00	7,465.60	7,559.20	7,559.20	7,559.20	7,559.20

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-HAR, 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
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
15	Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH	$105,854	95.5	$110,878
16	Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN	$105,663	95.4	$110,793
17	Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV	$104,883	94.7	$110,787

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	97.3	99.6	#28 (tied)
Housing (rent)	110.2	100.6	#24
Utilities	144.9	98.4	#8
Other services	102.7	100.1	#10
All items	102.7	100.0	#17

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
Hartford, CT	26.20	27.57	28.21	28.87	29.49	29.49	30.20	30.91	31.62	32.08	32.08
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

Among the 46 areas with a table of their own since 2016, it has slipped from 5th to 9th by locality percentage, the fifth-biggest slide of them, shared with Las Vegas, NV and Tucson, AZ.

In 2024 OPM moved Windham County in Connecticut from it to Boston, MA.

The 1990 pay law’s formula

Formula 51.23%, paid 32.08%: 19.15 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	58.79	51.23	32.08
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	66.46	58.53	32.08
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	64.42	56.59	31.62
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	59.18	51.60	30.91
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	58.59	51.04	30.20
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	60.73	53.08	29.49
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	63.14	55.37	29.49
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	66.45	58.52	28.87
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	65.27	57.40	28.21

Federal jobs

In this area’s 3 counties and 3 Connecticut planning regions, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 2,137 federal jobs in Connecticut and Massachusetts 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	14,396	1.41	$82,865
2024	14,223	1.40	$86,441
2025	13,642	1.33	$90,455

In Connecticut BLS has counted by planning region rather than county since 2024, while OPM still draws its areas by the old counties: each region is counted in the area that holds most of its towns, and 4 of the 9 regions straddle two areas; 2,811 of this area’s jobs are in such regions.

Counties

7 counties paid at this rate

Connecticut, 4 counties

Hartford County
Middlesex County
New London County
Tolland County

Massachusetts, 3 counties

Franklin County
Hampden County
Hampshire County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.