GS pay scale 2026
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Phoenix, AZ GS pay scale 2026: 22.45% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $106,114 with 22.45% locality pay, but prices above the national average cut what it buys to $102,708 at U.S. prices.

#21 on paper, #49 after prices

−28Places lost, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$102,708BEA price level 103.3, for Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ.

Ceiling watch

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

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +5.33 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 51.12%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 43.92%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 23,975
Share of all jobs here: 1.01%
Largest county by federal jobs: Maricopa County, AZ: 22,305

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	27,654	28,581	29,501	30,417	31,334	31,871	32,781	33,697	33,735	34,590
GS-2	31,094	31,833	32,864	33,735	34,112	35,115	36,118	37,121	38,124	39,126
GS-3	33,928	35,060	36,191	37,323	38,454	39,586	40,717	41,849	42,980	44,111
GS-4	38,086	39,355	40,625	41,895	43,165	44,435	45,704	46,974	48,244	49,514
GS-5	42,611	44,032	45,452	46,873	48,293	49,713	51,134	52,554	53,975	55,395
GS-6	47,500	49,083	50,666	52,249	53,833	55,416	56,999	58,583	60,166	61,749
GS-7	52,783	54,543	56,303	58,062	59,822	61,581	63,341	65,101	66,860	68,620
GS-8	58,455	60,403	62,352	64,300	66,248	68,196	70,144	72,092	74,041	75,989
GS-9	64,564	66,717	68,870	71,022	73,175	75,328	77,480	79,633	81,786	83,938
GS-10	71,099	73,469	75,838	78,208	80,577	82,946	85,316	87,685	90,055	92,424
GS-11	78,117	80,721	83,326	85,931	88,535	91,140	93,744	96,349	98,953	101,558
GS-12	93,629	96,750	99,871	102,993	106,114	109,235	112,356	115,478	118,599	121,720
GS-13	111,338	115,049	118,761	122,472	126,184	129,895	133,606	137,318	141,029	144,741
GS-14	131,568	135,954	140,340	144,726	149,112	153,498	157,885	162,271	166,657	171,043
GS-15	154,757	159,916	165,075	170,234	175,392	180,551	185,710	190,869	196,028	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	14.14	14.57	15.01	15.27	15.71	16.15	16.16	16.57
GS-2	14.90	15.25	15.75	16.16	16.34	16.83	17.31	17.79	18.27	18.75
GS-3	16.26	16.80	17.34	17.88	18.43	18.97	19.51	20.05	20.59	21.14
GS-4	18.25	18.86	19.47	20.07	20.68	21.29	21.90	22.51	23.12	23.72
GS-5	20.42	21.10	21.78	22.46	23.14	23.82	24.50	25.18	25.86	26.54
GS-6	22.76	23.52	24.28	25.04	25.79	26.55	27.31	28.07	28.83	29.59
GS-7	25.29	26.13	26.98	27.82	28.66	29.51	30.35	31.19	32.04	32.88
GS-8	28.01	28.94	29.88	30.81	31.74	32.68	33.61	34.54	35.48	36.41
GS-9	30.94	31.97	33.00	34.03	35.06	36.09	37.13	38.16	39.19	40.22
GS-10	34.07	35.20	36.34	37.47	38.61	39.74	40.88	42.01	43.15	44.29
GS-11	37.43	38.68	39.93	41.17	42.42	43.67	44.92	46.17	47.41	48.66
GS-12	44.86	46.36	47.85	49.35	50.85	52.34	53.84	55.33	56.83	58.32
GS-13	53.35	55.13	56.91	58.68	60.46	62.24	64.02	65.80	67.57	69.35
GS-14	63.04	65.14	67.24	69.35	71.45	73.55	75.65	77.75	79.85	81.96
GS-15	74.15	76.62	79.10	81.57	84.04	86.51	88.98	91.46	93.93	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	1,131.20	1,165.60	1,200.80	1,221.60	1,256.80	1,292.00	1,292.80	1,325.60
GS-2	1,192.00	1,220.00	1,260.00	1,292.80	1,307.20	1,346.40	1,384.80	1,423.20	1,461.60	1,500.00
GS-3	1,300.80	1,344.00	1,387.20	1,430.40	1,474.40	1,517.60	1,560.80	1,604.00	1,647.20	1,691.20
GS-4	1,460.00	1,508.80	1,557.60	1,605.60	1,654.40	1,703.20	1,752.00	1,800.80	1,849.60	1,897.60
GS-5	1,633.60	1,688.00	1,742.40	1,796.80	1,851.20	1,905.60	1,960.00	2,014.40	2,068.80	2,123.20
GS-6	1,820.80	1,881.60	1,942.40	2,003.20	2,063.20	2,124.00	2,184.80	2,245.60	2,306.40	2,367.20
GS-7	2,023.20	2,090.40	2,158.40	2,225.60	2,292.80	2,360.80	2,428.00	2,495.20	2,563.20	2,630.40
GS-8	2,240.80	2,315.20	2,390.40	2,464.80	2,539.20	2,614.40	2,688.80	2,763.20	2,838.40	2,912.80
GS-9	2,475.20	2,557.60	2,640.00	2,722.40	2,804.80	2,887.20	2,970.40	3,052.80	3,135.20	3,217.60
GS-10	2,725.60	2,816.00	2,907.20	2,997.60	3,088.80	3,179.20	3,270.40	3,360.80	3,452.00	3,543.20
GS-11	2,994.40	3,094.40	3,194.40	3,293.60	3,393.60	3,493.60	3,593.60	3,693.60	3,792.80	3,892.80
GS-12	3,588.80	3,708.80	3,828.00	3,948.00	4,068.00	4,187.20	4,307.20	4,426.40	4,546.40	4,665.60
GS-13	4,268.00	4,410.40	4,552.80	4,694.40	4,836.80	4,979.20	5,121.60	5,264.00	5,405.60	5,548.00
GS-14	5,043.20	5,211.20	5,379.20	5,548.00	5,716.00	5,884.00	6,052.00	6,220.00	6,388.00	6,556.80
GS-15	5,932.00	6,129.60	6,328.00	6,525.60	6,723.20	6,920.80	7,118.40	7,316.80	7,514.40	7,559.20

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-PX, 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
46	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$115,880	111.9	$103,569
47	Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ	$103,618	100.2	$103,396
48	Colorado Springs, CO	$104,121	100.7	$103,390
49	Phoenix-Mesa, AZ	$106,114	103.3	$102,708
50	Seattle-Tacoma, WA	$114,017	111.1	$102,595
51	Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT	$103,514	100.9	$102,541
52	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL	$102,197	100.0	$102,192

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	95.0	99.6	#43
Housing (rent)	121.2	100.6	#14
Utilities	93.3	98.4	#28
Other services	104.0	100.1	#6
All items	103.3	100.0	#15

Prices here have been rising more slowly than in the country as a whole: BLS consumer prices for the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ area rose 2.5% 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

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
Phoenix, AZ	17.12	18.57	19.09	19.60	20.12	20.12	20.84	21.44	22.02	22.45	22.45
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 climbed from 27th to 21st by locality percentage, the biggest climb of them.

The 1990 pay law’s formula

Formula 43.92%, paid 22.45%: 21.47 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	51.12	43.92	22.45
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	54.33	46.98	22.45
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	49.67	42.54	22.02
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	45.69	38.75	21.44
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	49.13	42.03	20.84
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	49.89	42.75	20.12
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	48.94	41.85	20.12
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	49.81	42.68	19.60
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	50.01	42.87	19.09

Federal jobs

In this area’s 3 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 2,158 federal jobs in Arizona 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	23,290	1.00	$93,672
2024	24,029	1.01	$99,720
2025	23,975	1.01	$104,473

Federal jobs here fell from 2024 to 2025, 54 fewer than in 2024, down 0.22%, the smallest drop of the 55 areas where they fell, and the 2025 average still counts staff on paid administrative leave until 30 September.

Counties

3 counties paid at this rate

Arizona, 3 counties

Gila County (added 2024)
Maricopa County
Pinal County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.