GS pay scale 2026
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Milwaukee, WI GS pay scale 2026: 22.42% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $106,088 with 22.42% locality pay, and prices below the national average stretch it to what $109,440 buys elsewhere.

#22 on paper, #21 after prices

+1Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$109,440BEA price level 96.9, for Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI.

Ceiling watch

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

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +4.03 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 43.64%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 36.80%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 11,387
Share of all jobs here: 1.02%
Largest county by federal jobs: Milwaukee County, WI: 9,064

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	27,647	28,574	29,493	30,409	31,326	31,863	32,773	33,689	33,727	34,581
GS-2	31,086	31,826	32,856	33,727	34,104	35,106	36,109	37,112	38,114	39,117
GS-3	33,920	35,051	36,182	37,314	38,445	39,576	40,707	41,838	42,969	44,101
GS-4	38,076	39,346	40,615	41,885	43,154	44,424	45,693	46,963	48,232	49,502
GS-5	42,601	44,021	45,441	46,861	48,281	49,701	51,121	52,541	53,962	55,382
GS-6	47,488	49,071	50,654	52,237	53,820	55,402	56,985	58,568	60,151	61,734
GS-7	52,770	54,530	56,289	58,048	59,807	61,566	63,325	65,085	66,844	68,603
GS-8	58,441	60,389	62,336	64,284	66,232	68,179	70,127	72,075	74,022	75,970
GS-9	64,548	66,701	68,853	71,005	73,157	75,309	77,461	79,613	81,766	83,918
GS-10	71,082	73,451	75,820	78,188	80,557	82,926	85,295	87,664	90,033	92,401
GS-11	78,098	80,702	83,306	85,909	88,513	91,117	93,721	96,325	98,929	101,533
GS-12	93,606	96,726	99,847	102,967	106,088	109,208	112,329	115,449	118,570	121,690
GS-13	111,310	115,021	118,731	122,442	126,153	129,863	133,574	137,284	140,995	144,705
GS-14	131,535	135,920	140,306	144,691	149,076	153,461	157,846	162,231	166,616	171,001
GS-15	154,719	159,877	165,034	170,192	175,350	180,507	185,665	190,822	195,980	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	13.25	13.69	14.13	14.57	15.01	15.27	15.70	16.14	16.16	16.57
GS-2	14.90	15.25	15.74	16.16	16.34	16.82	17.30	17.78	18.26	18.74
GS-3	16.25	16.79	17.34	17.88	18.42	18.96	19.51	20.05	20.59	21.13
GS-4	18.24	18.85	19.46	20.07	20.68	21.29	21.89	22.50	23.11	23.72
GS-5	20.41	21.09	21.77	22.45	23.13	23.81	24.49	25.18	25.86	26.54
GS-6	22.75	23.51	24.27	25.03	25.79	26.55	27.30	28.06	28.82	29.58
GS-7	25.29	26.13	26.97	27.81	28.66	29.50	30.34	31.19	32.03	32.87
GS-8	28.00	28.94	29.87	30.80	31.74	32.67	33.60	34.54	35.47	36.40
GS-9	30.93	31.96	32.99	34.02	35.05	36.08	37.12	38.15	39.18	40.21
GS-10	34.06	35.19	36.33	37.46	38.60	39.73	40.87	42.00	43.14	44.27
GS-11	37.42	38.67	39.92	41.16	42.41	43.66	44.91	46.15	47.40	48.65
GS-12	44.85	46.35	47.84	49.34	50.83	52.33	53.82	55.32	56.81	58.31
GS-13	53.33	55.11	56.89	58.67	60.45	62.22	64.00	65.78	67.56	69.34
GS-14	63.03	65.13	67.23	69.33	71.43	73.53	75.63	77.73	79.84	81.94
GS-15	74.13	76.61	79.08	81.55	84.02	86.49	88.96	91.43	93.91	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	1,060.00	1,095.20	1,130.40	1,165.60	1,200.80	1,221.60	1,256.00	1,291.20	1,292.80	1,325.60
GS-2	1,192.00	1,220.00	1,259.20	1,292.80	1,307.20	1,345.60	1,384.00	1,422.40	1,460.80	1,499.20
GS-3	1,300.00	1,343.20	1,387.20	1,430.40	1,473.60	1,516.80	1,560.80	1,604.00	1,647.20	1,690.40
GS-4	1,459.20	1,508.00	1,556.80	1,605.60	1,654.40	1,703.20	1,751.20	1,800.00	1,848.80	1,897.60
GS-5	1,632.80	1,687.20	1,741.60	1,796.00	1,850.40	1,904.80	1,959.20	2,014.40	2,068.80	2,123.20
GS-6	1,820.00	1,880.80	1,941.60	2,002.40	2,063.20	2,124.00	2,184.00	2,244.80	2,305.60	2,366.40
GS-7	2,023.20	2,090.40	2,157.60	2,224.80	2,292.80	2,360.00	2,427.20	2,495.20	2,562.40	2,629.60
GS-8	2,240.00	2,315.20	2,389.60	2,464.00	2,539.20	2,613.60	2,688.00	2,763.20	2,837.60	2,912.00
GS-9	2,474.40	2,556.80	2,639.20	2,721.60	2,804.00	2,886.40	2,969.60	3,052.00	3,134.40	3,216.80
GS-10	2,724.80	2,815.20	2,906.40	2,996.80	3,088.00	3,178.40	3,269.60	3,360.00	3,451.20	3,541.60
GS-11	2,993.60	3,093.60	3,193.60	3,292.80	3,392.80	3,492.80	3,592.80	3,692.00	3,792.00	3,892.00
GS-12	3,588.00	3,708.00	3,827.20	3,947.20	4,066.40	4,186.40	4,305.60	4,425.60	4,544.80	4,664.80
GS-13	4,266.40	4,408.80	4,551.20	4,693.60	4,836.00	4,977.60	5,120.00	5,262.40	5,404.80	5,547.20
GS-14	5,042.40	5,210.40	5,378.40	5,546.40	5,714.40	5,882.40	6,050.40	6,218.40	6,387.20	6,555.20
GS-15	5,930.40	6,128.80	6,326.40	6,524.00	6,721.60	6,919.20	7,116.80	7,314.40	7,512.80	7,559.20

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-MIL, 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
18	Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY	$106,079	95.8	$110,679
19	Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX	$101,937	92.7	$109,999
20	Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI	$113,402	103.6	$109,467
21	Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI	$106,088	96.9	$109,440
22	St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL	$104,017	95.1	$109,390
23	Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$111,781	102.6	$108,997
24	San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX	$102,934	94.7	$108,676

Prices here are those of the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area, 96.9. The area’s name also takes in Racine: BEA puts the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI metro area at 96.0, and at that level GS-12 step 5 here would buy $110,553.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	93.8	99.6	#48 (tied)
Housing (rent)	97.1	100.6	#32 (tied)
Utilities	91.6	98.4	#30
Other services	99.4	100.1	#25 (tied)
All items	96.9	100.0	#38 (tied)

Locality pay since 2016

18.39% in 2016, 22.42% in 2026, up 4.03 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
Milwaukee, WI	18.39	19.61	20.14	20.58	20.96	20.96	21.32	21.74	22.15	22.42	22.42
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 36.80%, paid 22.42%: 14.38 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	43.64	36.80	22.42
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	44.87	37.97	22.42
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	43.27	36.45	22.15
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	40.59	33.90	21.74
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	38.62	32.02	21.32
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	37.75	31.19	20.96
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	43.53	36.70	20.96
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	47.31	40.30	20.58
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	51.72	44.50	20.14

Federal jobs

In this area’s 10 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 2,080 federal jobs in Wisconsin 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	11,783	1.06	$83,408
2024	11,912	1.07	$87,461
2025	11,387	1.02	$91,507

Federal jobs of every pay system are 1.02% of all jobs here, the fifth-lowest share of the 58 areas.

Counties

10 counties paid at this rate

Wisconsin, 10 counties

Dodge County
Fond du Lac County (added 2024)
Jefferson County
Milwaukee County
Ozaukee County
Racine County
Sheboygan County (added 2024)
Walworth County
Washington County
Waukesha County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.