GS pay scale 2026
Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Rochester, NY GS pay scale 2026: 17.88% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $102,154 with 17.88% locality pay, and prices below the national average stretch it to what $105,275 buys elsewhere.

#53 on paper, #40 after prices

+13Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$105,275BEA price level 97.0, for Rochester, NY.

Ceiling watch

ClearNo cell reaches $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +3.53 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 51.14%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 43.94%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 4,857
Share of all jobs here: 0.90%
Largest county by federal jobs: Monroe County, NY: 2,861

Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

A yearAn hourEvery two weeks

No cell here reaches the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	26,622	27,514	28,400	29,281	30,164	30,682	31,558	32,439	32,476	33,299
GS-2	29,933	30,645	31,638	32,476	32,839	33,804	34,770	35,735	36,701	37,666
GS-3	32,662	33,751	34,841	35,930	37,019	38,108	39,197	40,287	41,376	42,465
GS-4	36,664	37,887	39,109	40,331	41,554	42,776	43,999	45,221	46,444	47,666
GS-5	41,021	42,388	43,756	45,123	46,491	47,858	49,226	50,593	51,960	53,328
GS-6	45,727	47,251	48,775	50,299	51,824	53,348	54,872	56,396	57,920	59,445
GS-7	50,813	52,507	54,201	55,895	57,589	59,283	60,977	62,671	64,365	66,059
GS-8	56,274	58,149	60,024	61,900	63,775	65,651	67,526	69,402	71,277	73,153
GS-9	62,155	64,227	66,299	68,372	70,444	72,516	74,589	76,661	78,733	80,806
GS-10	68,446	70,727	73,008	75,289	77,570	79,851	82,132	84,413	86,694	88,975
GS-11	75,202	77,709	80,216	82,723	85,231	87,738	90,245	92,753	95,260	97,767
GS-12	90,135	93,139	96,144	99,149	102,154	105,158	108,163	111,168	114,173	117,177
GS-13	107,182	110,755	114,328	117,901	121,474	125,047	128,620	132,193	135,766	139,339
GS-14	126,657	130,880	135,102	139,325	143,547	147,770	151,992	156,215	160,437	164,659
GS-15	148,981	153,948	158,914	163,880	168,847	173,813	178,779	183,745	188,712	193,678

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	12.76	13.18	13.61	14.03	14.45	14.70	15.12	15.54	15.56	15.96
GS-2	14.34	14.68	15.16	15.56	15.74	16.20	16.66	17.12	17.59	18.05
GS-3	15.65	16.17	16.69	17.22	17.74	18.26	18.78	19.30	19.83	20.35
GS-4	17.57	18.15	18.74	19.32	19.91	20.50	21.08	21.67	22.25	22.84
GS-5	19.66	20.31	20.97	21.62	22.28	22.93	23.59	24.24	24.90	25.55
GS-6	21.91	22.64	23.37	24.10	24.83	25.56	26.29	27.02	27.75	28.48
GS-7	24.35	25.16	25.97	26.78	27.59	28.41	29.22	30.03	30.84	31.65
GS-8	26.96	27.86	28.76	29.66	30.56	31.46	32.36	33.25	34.15	35.05
GS-9	29.78	30.77	31.77	32.76	33.75	34.75	35.74	36.73	37.73	38.72
GS-10	32.80	33.89	34.98	36.08	37.17	38.26	39.35	40.45	41.54	42.63
GS-11	36.03	37.23	38.44	39.64	40.84	42.04	43.24	44.44	45.64	46.85
GS-12	43.19	44.63	46.07	47.51	48.95	50.39	51.83	53.27	54.71	56.15
GS-13	51.36	53.07	54.78	56.49	58.21	59.92	61.63	63.34	65.05	66.77
GS-14	60.69	62.71	64.74	66.76	68.78	70.80	72.83	74.85	76.87	78.90
GS-15	71.39	73.77	76.14	78.52	80.90	83.28	85.66	88.04	90.42	92.80

Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,020.80	1,054.40	1,088.80	1,122.40	1,156.00	1,176.00	1,209.60	1,243.20	1,244.80	1,276.80
GS-2	1,147.20	1,174.40	1,212.80	1,244.80	1,259.20	1,296.00	1,332.80	1,369.60	1,407.20	1,444.00
GS-3	1,252.00	1,293.60	1,335.20	1,377.60	1,419.20	1,460.80	1,502.40	1,544.00	1,586.40	1,628.00
GS-4	1,405.60	1,452.00	1,499.20	1,545.60	1,592.80	1,640.00	1,686.40	1,733.60	1,780.00	1,827.20
GS-5	1,572.80	1,624.80	1,677.60	1,729.60	1,782.40	1,834.40	1,887.20	1,939.20	1,992.00	2,044.00
GS-6	1,752.80	1,811.20	1,869.60	1,928.00	1,986.40	2,044.80	2,103.20	2,161.60	2,220.00	2,278.40
GS-7	1,948.00	2,012.80	2,077.60	2,142.40	2,207.20	2,272.80	2,337.60	2,402.40	2,467.20	2,532.00
GS-8	2,156.80	2,228.80	2,300.80	2,372.80	2,444.80	2,516.80	2,588.80	2,660.00	2,732.00	2,804.00
GS-9	2,382.40	2,461.60	2,541.60	2,620.80	2,700.00	2,780.00	2,859.20	2,938.40	3,018.40	3,097.60
GS-10	2,624.00	2,711.20	2,798.40	2,886.40	2,973.60	3,060.80	3,148.00	3,236.00	3,323.20	3,410.40
GS-11	2,882.40	2,978.40	3,075.20	3,171.20	3,267.20	3,363.20	3,459.20	3,555.20	3,651.20	3,748.00
GS-12	3,455.20	3,570.40	3,685.60	3,800.80	3,916.00	4,031.20	4,146.40	4,261.60	4,376.80	4,492.00
GS-13	4,108.80	4,245.60	4,382.40	4,519.20	4,656.80	4,793.60	4,930.40	5,067.20	5,204.00	5,341.60
GS-14	4,855.20	5,016.80	5,179.20	5,340.80	5,502.40	5,664.00	5,826.40	5,988.00	6,149.60	6,312.00
GS-15	5,711.20	5,901.60	6,091.20	6,281.60	6,472.00	6,662.40	6,852.80	7,043.20	7,233.60	7,424.00

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-RT, 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
37	Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT	$114,893	108.3	$106,121
38	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI	$110,594	104.8	$105,506
39	Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV	$112,449	106.7	$105,418
40	Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY	$102,154	97.0	$105,275
41	Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC	$102,951	97.9	$105,115
42	Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA	$104,658	99.6	$105,114
43	Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA	$103,497	98.7	$104,913

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Rochester, NY metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	99.7	99.6	#23 (tied)
Housing (rent)	87.5	100.6	#44
Utilities	133.2	98.4	#10
Other services	97.8	100.1	#41 (tied)
All items	97.0	100.0	#37

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. Grey: the Rest of U.S. rate its counties were paid before it had a table of its own. 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
Rochester, NY	14.35	15.06	15.37	15.67	15.95	15.95	16.20	16.50	17.35	17.88	17.88
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

Rochester, NY got a locality pay table of its own in 2024; the grey figures before that are the Rest of U.S. rate its counties were paid.

The 1990 pay law’s formula

The editions checked here, the memos for pay in 2018 to 2026. Formula rate “—”: the memos print none for a Rest of U.S. research area, whose gap is from the memo’s research-area table. 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	51.14	43.94	17.88
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	55.44	48.04	17.88
2024	March 2022	Proposed locality pay area	54.56	47.20	17.35
2023	March 2021	Rest of U.S. research area	49.13	—	16.50

Rochester, NY is a separate locality pay area in the memos from the edition for pay in 2024; before that, in the edition for pay in 2023, it is a Rest of U.S. research area, with a gap of 49.13%, and the editions for pay in 2018 to 2022 give it no gap.

Federal jobs

In this area’s 8 counties, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 3,397 federal jobs in New York 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	5,044	0.95	$77,594
2024	5,021	0.94	$80,604
2025	4,857	0.90	$86,028

Federal jobs of every pay system are 0.90% of all jobs here, the second-lowest share of the 58 areas.

Average pay per federal job, overtime included, was $86,028 in 2025, the second-lowest of the 58 areas; across all 58 it was $105,058.

Counties

8 counties paid at this rate

New York, 8 counties

Genesee County
Livingston County
Monroe County
Ontario County
Orleans County
Seneca County
Wayne County
Yates County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.