GS pay scale 2026
Tucson-Nogales, AZ

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

Tucson, AZ GS pay scale 2026: 19.28% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $103,367 with 19.28% locality pay, and prices below the national average stretch it to what $106,678 buys elsewhere.

#42 on paper, #32 after prices

+10Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$106,678BEA price level 96.9, for Tucson, AZ.

Ceiling watch

ClearNo cell reaches $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016: +4.77 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 43.40%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 36.57%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 18,330
Share of all jobs here: 4.21%
Largest county by federal jobs: Pima County, AZ: 12,492

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	26,938	27,841	28,737	29,629	30,523	31,046	31,932	32,825	32,862	33,694
GS-2	30,289	31,009	32,014	32,862	33,229	34,206	35,183	36,160	37,137	38,114
GS-3	33,050	34,152	35,254	36,357	37,459	38,561	39,663	40,765	41,867	42,969
GS-4	37,100	38,337	39,574	40,810	42,047	43,284	44,521	45,758	46,995	48,232
GS-5	41,508	42,892	44,276	45,659	47,043	48,426	49,810	51,194	52,577	53,961
GS-6	46,270	47,812	49,354	50,897	52,439	53,981	55,524	57,066	58,608	60,151
GS-7	51,417	53,131	54,845	56,559	58,273	59,987	61,701	63,415	65,129	66,843
GS-8	56,942	58,840	60,737	62,635	64,533	66,431	68,328	70,226	72,124	74,022
GS-9	62,893	64,990	67,087	69,184	71,281	73,377	75,474	77,571	79,668	81,765
GS-10	69,259	71,567	73,875	76,183	78,491	80,799	83,107	85,415	87,723	90,031
GS-11	76,095	78,632	81,169	83,706	86,243	88,780	91,317	93,854	96,391	98,928
GS-12	91,205	94,246	97,286	100,326	103,367	106,407	109,448	112,488	115,529	118,569
GS-13	108,455	112,071	115,686	119,301	122,917	126,532	130,148	133,763	137,378	140,994
GS-14	128,162	132,434	136,707	140,979	145,252	149,525	153,797	158,070	162,342	166,615
GS-15	150,751	155,776	160,801	165,827	170,852	175,877	180,902	185,928	190,953	195,978

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	12.91	13.34	13.77	14.20	14.63	14.88	15.30	15.73	15.75	16.14
GS-2	14.51	14.86	15.34	15.75	15.92	16.39	16.86	17.33	17.79	18.26
GS-3	15.84	16.36	16.89	17.42	17.95	18.48	19.00	19.53	20.06	20.59
GS-4	17.78	18.37	18.96	19.55	20.15	20.74	21.33	21.93	22.52	23.11
GS-5	19.89	20.55	21.22	21.88	22.54	23.20	23.87	24.53	25.19	25.86
GS-6	22.17	22.91	23.65	24.39	25.13	25.87	26.60	27.34	28.08	28.82
GS-7	24.64	25.46	26.28	27.10	27.92	28.74	29.56	30.39	31.21	32.03
GS-8	27.28	28.19	29.10	30.01	30.92	31.83	32.74	33.65	34.56	35.47
GS-9	30.14	31.14	32.15	33.15	34.15	35.16	36.16	37.17	38.17	39.18
GS-10	33.19	34.29	35.40	36.50	37.61	38.72	39.82	40.93	42.03	43.14
GS-11	36.46	37.68	38.89	40.11	41.32	42.54	43.76	44.97	46.19	47.40
GS-12	43.70	45.16	46.62	48.07	49.53	50.99	52.44	53.90	55.36	56.81
GS-13	51.97	53.70	55.43	57.16	58.90	60.63	62.36	64.09	65.83	67.56
GS-14	61.41	63.46	65.50	67.55	69.60	71.65	73.69	75.74	77.79	79.83
GS-15	72.23	74.64	77.05	79.46	81.86	84.27	86.68	89.09	91.50	93.90

Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,032.80	1,067.20	1,101.60	1,136.00	1,170.40	1,190.40	1,224.00	1,258.40	1,260.00	1,291.20
GS-2	1,160.80	1,188.80	1,227.20	1,260.00	1,273.60	1,311.20	1,348.80	1,386.40	1,423.20	1,460.80
GS-3	1,267.20	1,308.80	1,351.20	1,393.60	1,436.00	1,478.40	1,520.00	1,562.40	1,604.80	1,647.20
GS-4	1,422.40	1,469.60	1,516.80	1,564.00	1,612.00	1,659.20	1,706.40	1,754.40	1,801.60	1,848.80
GS-5	1,591.20	1,644.00	1,697.60	1,750.40	1,803.20	1,856.00	1,909.60	1,962.40	2,015.20	2,068.80
GS-6	1,773.60	1,832.80	1,892.00	1,951.20	2,010.40	2,069.60	2,128.00	2,187.20	2,246.40	2,305.60
GS-7	1,971.20	2,036.80	2,102.40	2,168.00	2,233.60	2,299.20	2,364.80	2,431.20	2,496.80	2,562.40
GS-8	2,182.40	2,255.20	2,328.00	2,400.80	2,473.60	2,546.40	2,619.20	2,692.00	2,764.80	2,837.60
GS-9	2,411.20	2,491.20	2,572.00	2,652.00	2,732.00	2,812.80	2,892.80	2,973.60	3,053.60	3,134.40
GS-10	2,655.20	2,743.20	2,832.00	2,920.00	3,008.80	3,097.60	3,185.60	3,274.40	3,362.40	3,451.20
GS-11	2,916.80	3,014.40	3,111.20	3,208.80	3,305.60	3,403.20	3,500.80	3,597.60	3,695.20	3,792.00
GS-12	3,496.00	3,612.80	3,729.60	3,845.60	3,962.40	4,079.20	4,195.20	4,312.00	4,428.80	4,544.80
GS-13	4,157.60	4,296.00	4,434.40	4,572.80	4,712.00	4,850.40	4,988.80	5,127.20	5,266.40	5,404.80
GS-14	4,912.80	5,076.80	5,240.00	5,404.00	5,568.00	5,732.00	5,895.20	6,059.20	6,223.20	6,386.40
GS-15	5,778.40	5,971.20	6,164.00	6,356.80	6,548.80	6,741.60	6,934.40	7,127.20	7,320.00	7,512.00

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-TU, matched cell by cell; compare with Rest of U.S..

No cell here reaches the $197,200 ceiling, but GS-15 step 10, at $195,978, is $1,222 short of it, the fifth-closest of the 21 areas whose rates all stay below it.

After local prices

Its neighbors by what it buys (how; all 57).
#	Locality	On paper	Price level	What it buys
29	Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN	$102,388	95.7	$106,993
30	Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK	$110,282	103.1	$106,976
31	Denver-Aurora, CO	$113,107	105.8	$106,925
32	Tucson-Nogales, AZ	$103,367	96.9	$106,678
33	Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA	$116,071	108.9	$106,601
34	Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC	$103,705	97.3	$106,530
35	Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX	$104,294	98.1	$106,351

Within Arizona, rent here is 24% lower than in Phoenix, AZ, the other area whose principal city is in the state: BEA puts housing at 91.8 here and 121.2 there.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the Tucson, AZ metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spending	Here	U.S.	Rank of 57
Goods	96.2	99.6	#39 (tied)
Housing (rent)	91.8	100.6	#39
Utilities	89.5	98.4	#37
Other services	99.8	100.1	#20 (tied)
All items	96.9	100.0	#38 (tied)

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
Tucson, AZ	14.51	15.66	16.17	16.68	17.19	17.19	17.77	18.40	18.92	19.28	19.28
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

Tucson, AZ has had a locality pay table of its own only since 2016; before that its counties were paid the Rest of U.S. rate.

The 1990 pay law’s formula

Formula 36.57%, paid 19.28%: 17.29 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	43.40	36.57	19.28
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	46.56	39.58	19.28
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	44.27	37.40	18.92
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	43.59	36.75	18.40
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	41.74	34.99	17.77
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	39.63	32.98	17.19
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	45.10	38.19	17.19
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	46.74	39.75	16.68
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	46.36	39.39	16.17

Federal jobs

18,330 federal civilian jobs in 2025, 665 fewer than in 2024, down 3.50%: table

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	18,824	4.33	$100,005
2024	18,995	4.37	$106,148
2025	18,330	4.21	$112,032

Counties

3 counties paid at this rate

Arizona, 3 counties

Cochise County
Pima County
Santa Cruz County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.