GS pay scale 2026
Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Huntsville, AL GS pay scale 2026: 21.91% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $105,646 with 21.91% locality pay, and prices below the national average stretch it to what $113,510 buys elsewhere.

#30 on paper, #6 after prices

+24Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$113,510BEA price level 93.1, for Huntsville, AL.

Ceiling watch

1 of 150GS-15 step 10 is held to $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +5.54 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 46.34%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 39.37%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 22,775
Share of all jobs here: 4.95%
Largest county by federal jobs: Madison County, AL: 19,425

Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

A yearAn hourEvery two weeks

▲ marks the one cell cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	27,532	28,455	29,371	30,282	31,196	31,731	32,637	33,548	33,586	34,437
GS-2	30,957	31,693	32,719	33,586	33,962	34,960	35,959	36,957	37,955	38,954
GS-3	33,779	34,905	36,032	37,158	38,285	39,411	40,538	41,664	42,790	43,917
GS-4	37,918	39,182	40,446	41,710	42,974	44,239	45,503	46,767	48,031	49,296
GS-5	42,423	43,838	45,252	46,666	48,080	49,494	50,908	52,323	53,737	55,151
GS-6	47,290	48,866	50,443	52,019	53,595	55,172	56,748	58,324	59,900	61,477
GS-7	52,551	54,302	56,054	57,806	59,558	61,310	63,062	64,813	66,565	68,317
GS-8	58,197	60,137	62,077	64,016	65,956	67,895	69,835	71,775	73,714	75,654
GS-9	64,279	66,423	68,566	70,709	72,852	74,995	77,139	79,282	81,425	83,568
GS-10	70,786	73,145	75,504	77,863	80,222	82,581	84,940	87,299	89,657	92,016
GS-11	77,772	80,366	82,959	85,552	88,145	90,738	93,331	95,924	98,517	101,110
GS-12	93,216	96,324	99,431	102,539	105,646	108,753	111,861	114,968	118,076	121,183
GS-13	110,847	114,542	118,237	121,932	125,627	129,322	133,017	136,712	140,407	144,102
GS-14	130,987	135,354	139,721	144,088	148,455	152,821	157,188	161,555	165,922	170,289
GS-15	154,075	159,211	164,347	169,483	174,619	179,755	184,891	190,027	195,163	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	13.19	13.63	14.07	14.51	14.95	15.20	15.64	16.07	16.09	16.50
GS-2	14.83	15.19	15.68	16.09	16.27	16.75	17.23	17.71	18.19	18.67
GS-3	16.19	16.72	17.26	17.80	18.34	18.88	19.42	19.96	20.50	21.04
GS-4	18.17	18.77	19.38	19.99	20.59	21.20	21.80	22.41	23.01	23.62
GS-5	20.33	21.01	21.68	22.36	23.04	23.72	24.39	25.07	25.75	26.43
GS-6	22.66	23.41	24.17	24.93	25.68	26.44	27.19	27.95	28.70	29.46
GS-7	25.18	26.02	26.86	27.70	28.54	29.38	30.22	31.06	31.90	32.73
GS-8	27.89	28.82	29.74	30.67	31.60	32.53	33.46	34.39	35.32	36.25
GS-9	30.80	31.83	32.85	33.88	34.91	35.93	36.96	37.99	39.02	40.04
GS-10	33.92	35.05	36.18	37.31	38.44	39.57	40.70	41.83	42.96	44.09
GS-11	37.26	38.51	39.75	40.99	42.24	43.48	44.72	45.96	47.21	48.45
GS-12	44.67	46.15	47.64	49.13	50.62	52.11	53.60	55.09	56.58	58.07
GS-13	53.11	54.88	56.65	58.42	60.20	61.97	63.74	65.51	67.28	69.05
GS-14	62.76	64.86	66.95	69.04	71.13	73.23	75.32	77.41	79.50	81.60
GS-15	73.83	76.29	78.75	81.21	83.67	86.13	88.59	91.05	93.51	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	1,055.20	1,090.40	1,125.60	1,160.80	1,196.00	1,216.00	1,251.20	1,285.60	1,287.20	1,320.00
GS-2	1,186.40	1,215.20	1,254.40	1,287.20	1,301.60	1,340.00	1,378.40	1,416.80	1,455.20	1,493.60
GS-3	1,295.20	1,337.60	1,380.80	1,424.00	1,467.20	1,510.40	1,553.60	1,596.80	1,640.00	1,683.20
GS-4	1,453.60	1,501.60	1,550.40	1,599.20	1,647.20	1,696.00	1,744.00	1,792.80	1,840.80	1,889.60
GS-5	1,626.40	1,680.80	1,734.40	1,788.80	1,843.20	1,897.60	1,951.20	2,005.60	2,060.00	2,114.40
GS-6	1,812.80	1,872.80	1,933.60	1,994.40	2,054.40	2,115.20	2,175.20	2,236.00	2,296.00	2,356.80
GS-7	2,014.40	2,081.60	2,148.80	2,216.00	2,283.20	2,350.40	2,417.60	2,484.80	2,552.00	2,618.40
GS-8	2,231.20	2,305.60	2,379.20	2,453.60	2,528.00	2,602.40	2,676.80	2,751.20	2,825.60	2,900.00
GS-9	2,464.00	2,546.40	2,628.00	2,710.40	2,792.80	2,874.40	2,956.80	3,039.20	3,121.60	3,203.20
GS-10	2,713.60	2,804.00	2,894.40	2,984.80	3,075.20	3,165.60	3,256.00	3,346.40	3,436.80	3,527.20
GS-11	2,980.80	3,080.80	3,180.00	3,279.20	3,379.20	3,478.40	3,577.60	3,676.80	3,776.80	3,876.00
GS-12	3,573.60	3,692.00	3,811.20	3,930.40	4,049.60	4,168.80	4,288.00	4,407.20	4,526.40	4,645.60
GS-13	4,248.80	4,390.40	4,532.00	4,673.60	4,816.00	4,957.60	5,099.20	5,240.80	5,382.40	5,524.00
GS-14	5,020.80	5,188.80	5,356.00	5,523.20	5,690.40	5,858.40	6,025.60	6,192.80	6,360.00	6,528.00
GS-15	5,906.40	6,103.20	6,300.00	6,496.80	6,693.60	6,890.40	7,087.20	7,284.00	7,480.80	7,559.20

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-HNT, 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
3	Davenport-Moline, IA-IL	$103,064	89.1	$115,700
4	San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA	$126,817	110.4	$114,847
5	Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH	$105,221	92.7	$113,514
6	Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN	$105,646	93.1	$113,510
7	Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA	$105,923	93.9	$112,776
8	State of Alaska	$114,702	102.4	$112,059
9	Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL	$102,466	91.6	$111,809

Prices here are those of the Huntsville, AL metro area, 93.1. The area’s name also takes in Decatur: BEA puts the Decatur, AL metro area at 87.2, and at that level GS-12 step 5 here would buy $121,137.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Huntsville, AL metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	96.4	99.6	#35 (tied)
Housing (rent)	77.9	100.6	#52
Utilities	83.9	98.4	#47
Other services	96.7	100.1	#46 (tied)
All items	93.1	100.0	#49

Locality pay since 2016

16.37% in 2016, 21.91% in 2026, up 5.54 points; Rest of U.S. up 2.71: chart and table

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
Huntsville, AL	16.37	17.82	18.49	19.18	19.85	19.85	20.45	20.96	21.48	21.91	21.91
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

The 1990 pay law’s formula

Formula 39.37%, paid 21.91%: 17.46 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	46.34	39.37	21.91
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	53.53	46.22	21.91
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	46.88	39.89	21.48
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	42.69	35.90	20.96
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	45.00	38.10	20.45
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	50.05	42.90	19.85
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	55.21	47.82	19.85
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	57.58	50.08	19.18
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	56.68	49.22	18.49

Federal jobs

In this area’s 9 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 4,771 federal jobs in Alabama and Tennessee 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	22,694	5.13	$121,070
2024	23,091	5.10	$125,376
2025	22,775	4.95	$128,610

Federal jobs of every pay system are 4.95% of all jobs here, the fourth-highest share of the 58 areas.

Average pay per federal job, overtime included, was $128,610 in 2025, the third-highest of the 58 areas; across all 58 it was $105,058.

Counties

9 counties paid at this rate

Alabama, 8 counties

Colbert County (added 2024)
DeKalb County
Lauderdale County (added 2024)
Lawrence County
Limestone County
Madison County
Marshall County
Morgan County

Tennessee, 1 county

Lincoln County (added 2024)

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.