GS pay scale 2026
Denver-Aurora, CO

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

Denver, CO GS pay scale 2026: 30.52% locality pay

In 2026 the Denver-Aurora, CO locality pay area adds 30.52% to the General Schedule base table: a GS-12 step 5 earns $113,107, and the 150 rates run from $29,477 to $197,200, the statutory ceiling.

GS-12 step 5, assembled

Base rate: $86,659
Locality pay, 30.52%: + $26,448
Annual rate: $113,107

$4,336.00 every two weeks, $54.20 an hour, $54.47 an overtime hour.

#12 on paper, #31 after prices

−19Places lost, of 57 areas with a price index.

Buys at U.S. prices

$106,925Price level 105.8, U.S. = 100, for Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO.

Ceiling watch

4 of 150cells held to $197,200, from GS-15 step 7.

Key facts

Rank on paper, GS-12 step 5: #12 of 57
Rank after local prices: #31 of 57
Locality pay change since 2016: +7.59 points
Rank of that change: #7 of 58
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 71.19%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 63.04%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 33,657
Share of all jobs here: 1.61%
Largest county by federal jobs: Denver County, CO: 13,374

Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate in Denver-Aurora, CO

A yearAn hourEvery two weeks

Every 2026 rate in Denver-Aurora, CO, U.S. dollars a year, by grade and step. Click any cell, or use the arrow keys, and the bar at the top of the page moves onto it; ◀ marks GS-12 step 5. ▲ marks the 4 cells cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling.
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	29,477	30,465	31,445	32,421	33,399	33,972	34,942	35,918	35,958	36,869
GS-2	33,143	33,931	35,030	35,958	36,360	37,429	38,498	39,567	40,636	41,705
GS-3	36,164	37,370	38,576	39,782	40,989	42,195	43,401	44,607	45,813	47,019
GS-4	40,596	41,949	43,303	44,656	46,010	47,363	48,717	50,070	51,424	52,777
GS-5	45,420	46,934	48,448	49,962	51,476	52,990	54,504	56,018	57,532	59,046
GS-6	50,630	52,318	54,005	55,693	57,381	59,068	60,756	62,443	64,131	65,819
GS-7	56,262	58,138	60,013	61,889	63,764	65,640	67,515	69,391	71,267	73,142
GS-8	62,308	64,384	66,461	68,537	70,614	72,691	74,767	76,844	78,920	80,997
GS-9	68,819	71,114	73,408	75,703	77,997	80,292	82,587	84,881	87,176	89,470
GS-10	75,785	78,311	80,836	83,362	85,887	88,413	90,939	93,464	95,990	98,515
GS-11	83,265	86,041	88,818	91,594	94,370	97,146	99,922	102,698	105,475	108,251
GS-12	99,800	103,126	106,453	109,780	113,107	116,434	119,761	123,088	126,415	129,742
GS-13	118,675	122,631	126,587	130,543	134,500	138,456	142,412	146,368	150,324	154,280
GS-14	140,239	144,914	149,589	154,264	158,939	163,615	168,290	172,965	177,640	182,316
GS-15	164,956	170,455	175,954	181,453	186,952	192,450	197,200	197,200	197,200	197,200

Hourly rates in Denver-Aurora, CO, 2026, U.S. dollars: the annual rate divided by 2,087 hours and rounded to the cent, as 5 U.S.C. 5504(b) sets. OPM prints the same figures in its hourly table for this area.
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	14.12	14.60	15.07	15.53	16.00	16.28	16.74	17.21	17.23	17.67
GS-2	15.88	16.26	16.78	17.23	17.42	17.93	18.45	18.96	19.47	19.98
GS-3	17.33	17.91	18.48	19.06	19.64	20.22	20.80	21.37	21.95	22.53
GS-4	19.45	20.10	20.75	21.40	22.05	22.69	23.34	23.99	24.64	25.29
GS-5	21.76	22.49	23.21	23.94	24.67	25.39	26.12	26.84	27.57	28.29
GS-6	24.26	25.07	25.88	26.69	27.49	28.30	29.11	29.92	30.73	31.54
GS-7	26.96	27.86	28.76	29.65	30.55	31.45	32.35	33.25	34.15	35.05
GS-8	29.86	30.85	31.85	32.84	33.84	34.83	35.83	36.82	37.82	38.81
GS-9	32.98	34.07	35.17	36.27	37.37	38.47	39.57	40.67	41.77	42.87
GS-10	36.31	37.52	38.73	39.94	41.15	42.36	43.57	44.78	45.99	47.20
GS-11	39.90	41.23	42.56	43.89	45.22	46.55	47.88	49.21	50.54	51.87
GS-12	47.82	49.41	51.01	52.60	54.20	55.79	57.38	58.98	60.57	62.17
GS-13	56.86	58.76	60.66	62.55	64.45	66.34	68.24	70.13	72.03	73.92
GS-14	67.20	69.44	71.68	73.92	76.16	78.40	80.64	82.88	85.12	87.36
GS-15	79.04	81.67	84.31	86.94	89.58	92.21	94.49	94.49	94.49	94.49

Biweekly rates in Denver-Aurora, CO, 2026, U.S. dollars: the hourly rate times 80, the hours of one pay period, as 5 U.S.C. 5504(b) sets; the annual rate divided by 26 gives a different, wrong figure.
Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GS-1	1,129.60	1,168.00	1,205.60	1,242.40	1,280.00	1,302.40	1,339.20	1,376.80	1,378.40	1,413.60
GS-2	1,270.40	1,300.80	1,342.40	1,378.40	1,393.60	1,434.40	1,476.00	1,516.80	1,557.60	1,598.40
GS-3	1,386.40	1,432.80	1,478.40	1,524.80	1,571.20	1,617.60	1,664.00	1,709.60	1,756.00	1,802.40
GS-4	1,556.00	1,608.00	1,660.00	1,712.00	1,764.00	1,815.20	1,867.20	1,919.20	1,971.20	2,023.20
GS-5	1,740.80	1,799.20	1,856.80	1,915.20	1,973.60	2,031.20	2,089.60	2,147.20	2,205.60	2,263.20
GS-6	1,940.80	2,005.60	2,070.40	2,135.20	2,199.20	2,264.00	2,328.80	2,393.60	2,458.40	2,523.20
GS-7	2,156.80	2,228.80	2,300.80	2,372.00	2,444.00	2,516.00	2,588.00	2,660.00	2,732.00	2,804.00
GS-8	2,388.80	2,468.00	2,548.00	2,627.20	2,707.20	2,786.40	2,866.40	2,945.60	3,025.60	3,104.80
GS-9	2,638.40	2,725.60	2,813.60	2,901.60	2,989.60	3,077.60	3,165.60	3,253.60	3,341.60	3,429.60
GS-10	2,904.80	3,001.60	3,098.40	3,195.20	3,292.00	3,388.80	3,485.60	3,582.40	3,679.20	3,776.00
GS-11	3,192.00	3,298.40	3,404.80	3,511.20	3,617.60	3,724.00	3,830.40	3,936.80	4,043.20	4,149.60
GS-12	3,825.60	3,952.80	4,080.80	4,208.00	4,336.00	4,463.20	4,590.40	4,718.40	4,845.60	4,973.60
GS-13	4,548.80	4,700.80	4,852.80	5,004.00	5,156.00	5,307.20	5,459.20	5,610.40	5,762.40	5,913.60
GS-14	5,376.00	5,555.20	5,734.40	5,913.60	6,092.80	6,272.00	6,451.20	6,630.40	6,809.60	6,988.80
GS-15	6,323.20	6,533.60	6,744.80	6,955.20	7,166.40	7,376.80	7,559.20	7,559.20	7,559.20	7,559.20

Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-DEN, matched cell by cell.

Under the 2027 proposal this area keeps 30.52% and GS-12 step 5 keeps $113,107 (2027 pay raise; compare with Rest of U.S.).

Locality pay in Denver, CO since 2016

Solid line: this area; dashed line: the Rest of U.S. rate.

Locality pay, percent, as printed in OPM’s General Schedule table for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026. Sources and caveats.
Locality pay, %	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
Denver, CO	22.93	24.65	25.47	26.30	27.13	27.13	28.10	29.05	29.88	30.52	30.52
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

What the 1990 pay law’s formula would pay in Denver, CO

Federal Salary Council estimates for Denver, CO in the editions checked here, the memos for pay in 2018 to 2026: the pay gap between non-federal and General Schedule base pay, and the locality rate the 1990 law’s formula would set. 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.
Edition, for pay in	Data as of	Listed as	Pay gap, %	Formula rate, %	Rate paid that year, %
2026	March 2024	Locality pay area	71.19	63.04	30.52
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	75.15	66.81	30.52
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	66.92	58.97	29.88
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	64.57	56.73	29.05
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	64.67	56.83	28.10
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	65.94	58.04	27.13
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	69.81	61.72	27.13
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	71.81	63.63	26.30
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	71.23	63.08	25.47

What a GS-12 step 5 buys after local prices

The areas ranked next to Denver, CO by what a GS-12 step 5 buys: the 2026 salary divided by the BEA price level for 2024, where 100 is the U.S. average. How the comparison is made; all 57 ranked.
#	Locality	On paper	Price level	What it buys
28	Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL	$107,275	100.1	$107,213
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

Federal jobs in Denver, CO

Federal civilian jobs at worksites in the 14 counties of this area, every federal pay system counted (the Postal Service in, the uniformed military out), as annual averages from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS reports another 901 federal jobs in Colorado without a county; they belong to no area. Sources and caveats.
Year	Federal civilian jobs	Share of all jobs, %	Average pay per job
2023	33,873	1.62	$108,022
2024	34,651	1.65	$112,309
2025	33,657	1.61	$116,772

Counties in Denver-Aurora, CO

14 counties paid at this rate

Colorado, 14 counties

Adams County
Arapahoe County
Boulder County
Broomfield County
Clear Creek County
Denver County
Douglas County
Elbert County
Gilpin County
Jefferson County
Larimer County
Lincoln County (added 2024)
Park County
Weld County

Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions. The duty station’s county counts (how that works).