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

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Houston-The Woodlands, TX$116,990a year$4,484.80Every two weeks$56.06Per hour$56.34Overtime hour#4On paper#2After prices
  1. GS pay scale 2026
  2. Houston-The Woodlands, TX

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Houston, TX GS pay scale 2026: 35.00% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $116,990 with 35.00% locality pay; local prices are within 2% of the national average, so at U.S. prices it is worth close to that, $118,616.

#4 on paper, #2 after prices

+2Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$118,616BEA price level 98.6, for Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX.

Ceiling watch

5 of 150cells held to $197,200, from GS-15 step 6.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$15,547over $101,443 at GS-12 step 5, on paper.

Rest of U.S. buys as much at

85.5or lower prices, U.S. = 100, against 98.6 here; 0 of the 57 priced areas are that cheap (the two side by side).

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016
+5.89 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate
51.07%
Rate the 1990 formula would set
43.88%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025
34,222
Share of all jobs here
1.01%
Largest county by federal jobs
Harris County, TX: 27,841
Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

▲ marks the 5 cells cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade12345678910
GS-130,48831,51032,52433,53434,54535,13836,14137,15137,19338,135
GS-234,28135,09636,23337,19337,60838,71439,82040,92542,03143,137
GS-337,40638,65339,90141,14842,39543,64344,89046,13847,38548,632
GS-441,98943,38944,78946,18947,58948,98950,38951,78953,18954,589
GS-546,97948,54550,11151,67753,24354,80956,37557,94159,50761,073
GS-652,36854,11355,85957,60559,35061,09662,84164,58766,33268,078
GS-758,19360,13362,07364,01365,95367,89369,83371,77373,71375,653
GS-864,44666,59468,74270,89073,03875,18677,33379,48181,62983,777
GS-971,18173,55575,92878,30180,67583,04885,42187,79590,16892,541
GS-1078,38680,99983,61186,22388,83591,44894,06096,67299,284101,897
GS-1186,12388,99591,86694,73897,609100,481103,352106,223109,095111,966
GS-12103,225106,666110,107113,549116,990120,431123,872127,313130,754134,195
GS-13122,749126,841130,932135,024139,116143,208147,300151,392155,484159,575
GS-14145,052149,888154,724159,559164,395169,231174,066178,902183,738188,573
GS-15170,618176,306181,994187,681193,369197,200197,200197,200197,200197,200
Annual rate divided by 2,087 hours (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)), as in OPM’s hourly table.
Grade12345678910
GS-114.6115.1015.5816.0716.5516.8417.3217.8017.8218.27
GS-216.4316.8217.3617.8218.0218.5519.0819.6120.1420.67
GS-317.9218.5219.1219.7220.3120.9121.5122.1122.7023.30
GS-420.1220.7921.4622.1322.8023.4724.1424.8225.4926.16
GS-522.5123.2624.0124.7625.5126.2627.0127.7628.5129.26
GS-625.0925.9326.7727.6028.4429.2730.1130.9531.7832.62
GS-727.8828.8129.7430.6731.6032.5333.4634.3935.3236.25
GS-830.8831.9132.9433.9735.0036.0337.0538.0839.1140.14
GS-934.1135.2436.3837.5238.6639.7940.9342.0743.2044.34
GS-1037.5638.8140.0641.3142.5743.8245.0746.3247.5748.82
GS-1141.2742.6444.0245.3946.7748.1549.5250.9052.2753.65
GS-1249.4651.1152.7654.4156.0657.7159.3561.0062.6564.30
GS-1358.8260.7862.7464.7066.6668.6270.5872.5474.5076.46
GS-1469.5071.8274.1476.4578.7781.0983.4085.7288.0490.36
GS-1581.7584.4887.2089.9392.6594.4994.4994.4994.4994.49
Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade12345678910
GS-11,168.801,208.001,246.401,285.601,324.001,347.201,385.601,424.001,425.601,461.60
GS-21,314.401,345.601,388.801,425.601,441.601,484.001,526.401,568.801,611.201,653.60
GS-31,433.601,481.601,529.601,577.601,624.801,672.801,720.801,768.801,816.001,864.00
GS-41,609.601,663.201,716.801,770.401,824.001,877.601,931.201,985.602,039.202,092.80
GS-51,800.801,860.801,920.801,980.802,040.802,100.802,160.802,220.802,280.802,340.80
GS-62,007.202,074.402,141.602,208.002,275.202,341.602,408.802,476.002,542.402,609.60
GS-72,230.402,304.802,379.202,453.602,528.002,602.402,676.802,751.202,825.602,900.00
GS-82,470.402,552.802,635.202,717.602,800.002,882.402,964.003,046.403,128.803,211.20
GS-92,728.802,819.202,910.403,001.603,092.803,183.203,274.403,365.603,456.003,547.20
GS-103,004.803,104.803,204.803,304.803,405.603,505.603,605.603,705.603,805.603,905.60
GS-113,301.603,411.203,521.603,631.203,741.603,852.003,961.604,072.004,181.604,292.00
GS-123,956.804,088.804,220.804,352.804,484.804,616.804,748.004,880.005,012.005,144.00
GS-134,705.604,862.405,019.205,176.005,332.805,489.605,646.405,803.205,960.006,116.80
GS-145,560.005,745.605,931.206,116.006,301.606,487.206,672.006,857.607,043.207,228.80
GS-156,540.006,758.406,976.007,194.407,412.007,559.207,559.207,559.207,559.207,559.20
Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-HOU, 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
1Laredo, TX$105,36987.0$121,175
2Houston-The Woodlands, TX$116,99098.6$118,616
3Davenport-Moline, IA-IL$103,06489.1$115,700
4San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA$126,817110.4$114,847
5Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH$105,22192.7$113,514
BEA price levels, 2024, for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spendingHereU.S.Rank of 57
Goods100.699.6#20
Housing (rent)104.5100.6#25
Utilities95.398.4#26
Other services95.6100.1#53
All items98.6100.0#31

Prices here have been rising more slowly than in the country as a whole: BLS consumer prices for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX area rose 1.3% in the twelve months to August 2026, the latest month BLS has for it, against 3.4% for the U.S. city average over the same months; to September 2026 the U.S. figure is 3.7%.

Locality pay since 2016

29.11% in 2016, 35.00% in 2026, up 5.89 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
Houston, TX29.1130.9731.7432.5433.3233.3233.9634.4734.7235.0035.00
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 area51.0743.8835.00
2025March 2023Locality pay area58.4750.9235.00
2024March 2022Locality pay area50.8943.7034.72
2023March 2021Locality pay area56.7049.2434.47
2022March 2020Locality pay area60.4252.7833.96
2021March 2019Locality pay area66.3758.4533.32
2020March 2018Locality pay area73.9265.6433.32
2019March 2017Locality pay area76.8468.4232.54
2018March 2016Locality pay area75.3567.0031.74

The formula would pay Houston, TX 43.88%, 8.88 points above the 35.00% paid in 2026, the second-narrowest distance between formula and pay of the 57 areas with a formula rate.

Since the edition for pay in 2018, the first checked here, the estimate for Houston, TX has fallen 24.28 points, from 75.35% to 51.07%, the biggest fall of the 56 areas with a gap in all nine editions.

Federal jobs

In this area’s 19 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 13,060 federal jobs in Texas 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
202333,2241.00$102,912
202434,4561.03$108,414
202534,2221.01$112,726

Federal jobs here fell less than half as fast as across all areas: 234 fewer than in 2024, down 0.68%, against a drop of 2.95% across the 58 areas together.

Counties

19 counties paid at this rate

Texas, 19 counties

  • Austin County
  • Brazoria County
  • Chambers County
  • Colorado County (added 2024)
  • Fort Bend County
  • Galveston County
  • Grimes County (added 2024)
  • Harris County
  • Jackson County (added 2024)
  • Liberty County
  • Madison County (added 2024)
  • Matagorda County
  • Montgomery County
  • San Jacinto County
  • Trinity County
  • Walker County
  • Waller County
  • Washington County
  • Wharton County
Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.