- GS pay scale 2026
- How far pay is from the 1990 law’s formula
58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22
How far locality pay is from the 1990 pay law’s formula
The Federal Salary Council’s latest memo puts the payroll-weighted pay gap at 56.57% and the locality rate the 1990 law’s formula would set at 49.11% on average; weighted by the same payroll, the locality pay actually paid in 2026 averages 25.88%, 52.7% of the formula’s.
Nine editions of the estimate
Since the edition for pay in 2018 the council’s overall gap has fallen from 61.10% to 56.57%, and it has not moved in one direction: it is a model of survey data, re-estimated every year.
| Edition, for pay in | Data as of | Payroll | Pay gap | Formula rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | March 2016 | $91.0 billion | 61.10% | 53.43% |
| 2019 | March 2017 | $91.6 billion | 61.48% | 53.79% |
| 2020 | March 2018 | $92.4 billion | 60.17% | 52.54% |
| 2021 | March 2019 | $94.0 billion | 55.81% | 48.39% |
| 2022 | March 2020 | $97.5 billion | 52.17% | 44.92% |
| 2023 | March 2021 | $100.8 billion | 52.22% | 44.97% |
| 2024 | March 2022 | $103.3 billion | 54.23% | 46.89% |
| 2025 | March 2023 | $109.0 billion | 59.40% | 51.81% |
| 2026 | March 2024 | $118.1 billion | 56.57% | 49.11% |
Area by area
The distance between the formula rate and the 2026 rate runs from 7.73 points in Cleveland, OH to 50.44 in San Jose, CA; the median of the 57 areas with a formula rate is 18.40 points.
| Area | Pay gap | Formula rate | Paid in 2026 | Distance, points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | 106.62% | 96.78% | 46.34% | 50.44 |
| Seattle, WA | 85.77% | 76.92% | 31.57% | 45.35 |
| Washington, DC | 79.39% | 70.85% | 33.94% | 36.91 |
| San Diego, CA | 78.28% | 69.79% | 33.72% | 36.07 |
| New York, NY | 82.26% | 73.58% | 37.95% | 35.63 |
| Cleveland, OH | 36.46% | 29.96% | 22.23% | 7.73 |
| Houston, TX | 51.07% | 43.88% | 35.00% | 8.88 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 38.81% | 32.20% | 21.03% | 11.17 |
| Omaha, NE | 36.15% | 29.67% | 18.23% | 11.44 |
| Davenport, IA | 36.89% | 30.37% | 18.93% | 11.44 |
In 14 areas the formula rate is at least twice the rate paid. Corpus Christi is left out of these figures: its latest memo gives it the Rest of U.S. target rather than a rate of its own (why).
Why the formula is not what is paid
The Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 set the target: locality rates that would close all but 5% of the gap between federal and non-federal pay. Each year the council estimates that gap from Bureau of Labor Statistics survey data, and since locality pay began in 1994 the formula has been overridden every year, by Congress or by the President; the Pay Agent’s report on pay in 2026 declined to recommend the council’s rates. What the estimates can and cannot tell you is on the methodology page, and each area’s nine editions are on its own page.
Sources
Federal Salary Council memoranda, Attachment 1, for pay in 2018 to 2026 (the council’s memos; the latest, January 10, 2025). Rates paid: OPM 2026 tables. The payroll-weighted average of the 2026 rates is this site’s arithmetic: each area’s rate weighted by the base payroll the latest memo gives it.
More from this site’s data
Where GS pay goes furthest; Ten years of locality pay; Where the federal jobs are; and how every figure is made, on the methodology page.