INDEPENDENTREFERENCEGSGS Pay TablesWhat the federal pay tables mean 2026 edition
Effective January 2026

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Houston-The Woodlands, TX$116,990a year$4,484.80Every two weeks$56.06Per hour$56.34Overtime hour#4On paper#2After prices
  1. GS pay scale 2026
  2. Houston-The Woodlands, TX

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

Houston, TX GS pay scale 2026: 35.00% locality pay

In 2026 the Houston-The Woodlands, TX locality pay area adds 35.00% to the General Schedule base table: a GS-12 step 5 earns $116,990, and the 150 rates run from $30,488 to $197,200, the statutory ceiling.

GS-12 step 5, assembled

Base rate
$86,659
Locality pay, 35.00%
+ $30,331
Annual rate
$116,990

$4,484.80 every two weeks, $56.06 an hour, $56.34 an overtime hour.

#4 on paper, #2 after prices

+2Places gained, of 57 areas with a price index.

Buys at U.S. prices

$118,616Price level 98.6, U.S. = 100, for Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX.

Ceiling watch

5 of 150cells held to $197,200, from GS-15 step 6.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$15,547over $101,443 at GS-12 step 5, on paper.

Rest of U.S. buys as much at

85.5or lower prices, U.S. = 100, against 98.6 here; 0 of the 57 priced areas are that cheap (the two side by side).

Key facts

Rank on paper, GS-12 step 5
#4 of 57
Rank after local prices
#2 of 57
Locality pay change since 2016
+5.89 points
Rank of that change
#16 of 58
Pay gap, latest council estimate
51.07%
Rate the 1990 formula would set
43.88%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025
34,222
Share of all jobs here
1.01%
Largest county by federal jobs
Harris County, TX: 27,841
Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate in Houston-The Woodlands, TX

Every 2026 rate in Houston-The Woodlands, TX, 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 5 cells cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling.
Grade12345678910
GS-130,48831,51032,52433,53434,54535,13836,14137,15137,19338,135
GS-234,28135,09636,23337,19337,60838,71439,82040,92542,03143,137
GS-337,40638,65339,90141,14842,39543,64344,89046,13847,38548,632
GS-441,98943,38944,78946,18947,58948,98950,38951,78953,18954,589
GS-546,97948,54550,11151,67753,24354,80956,37557,94159,50761,073
GS-652,36854,11355,85957,60559,35061,09662,84164,58766,33268,078
GS-758,19360,13362,07364,01365,95367,89369,83371,77373,71375,653
GS-864,44666,59468,74270,89073,03875,18677,33379,48181,62983,777
GS-971,18173,55575,92878,30180,67583,04885,42187,79590,16892,541
GS-1078,38680,99983,61186,22388,83591,44894,06096,67299,284101,897
GS-1186,12388,99591,86694,73897,609100,481103,352106,223109,095111,966
GS-12103,225106,666110,107113,549116,990120,431123,872127,313130,754134,195
GS-13122,749126,841130,932135,024139,116143,208147,300151,392155,484159,575
GS-14145,052149,888154,724159,559164,395169,231174,066178,902183,738188,573
GS-15170,618176,306181,994187,681193,369197,200197,200197,200197,200197,200
Hourly rates in Houston-The Woodlands, TX, 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.
Grade12345678910
GS-114.6115.1015.5816.0716.5516.8417.3217.8017.8218.27
GS-216.4316.8217.3617.8218.0218.5519.0819.6120.1420.67
GS-317.9218.5219.1219.7220.3120.9121.5122.1122.7023.30
GS-420.1220.7921.4622.1322.8023.4724.1424.8225.4926.16
GS-522.5123.2624.0124.7625.5126.2627.0127.7628.5129.26
GS-625.0925.9326.7727.6028.4429.2730.1130.9531.7832.62
GS-727.8828.8129.7430.6731.6032.5333.4634.3935.3236.25
GS-830.8831.9132.9433.9735.0036.0337.0538.0839.1140.14
GS-934.1135.2436.3837.5238.6639.7940.9342.0743.2044.34
GS-1037.5638.8140.0641.3142.5743.8245.0746.3247.5748.82
GS-1141.2742.6444.0245.3946.7748.1549.5250.9052.2753.65
GS-1249.4651.1152.7654.4156.0657.7159.3561.0062.6564.30
GS-1358.8260.7862.7464.7066.6668.6270.5872.5474.5076.46
GS-1469.5071.8274.1476.4578.7781.0983.4085.7288.0490.36
GS-1581.7584.4887.2089.9392.6594.4994.4994.4994.4994.49
Biweekly rates in Houston-The Woodlands, TX, 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.
Grade12345678910
GS-11,168.801,208.001,246.401,285.601,324.001,347.201,385.601,424.001,425.601,461.60
GS-21,314.401,345.601,388.801,425.601,441.601,484.001,526.401,568.801,611.201,653.60
GS-31,433.601,481.601,529.601,577.601,624.801,672.801,720.801,768.801,816.001,864.00
GS-41,609.601,663.201,716.801,770.401,824.001,877.601,931.201,985.602,039.202,092.80
GS-51,800.801,860.801,920.801,980.802,040.802,100.802,160.802,220.802,280.802,340.80
GS-62,007.202,074.402,141.602,208.002,275.202,341.602,408.802,476.002,542.402,609.60
GS-72,230.402,304.802,379.202,453.602,528.002,602.402,676.802,751.202,825.602,900.00
GS-82,470.402,552.802,635.202,717.602,800.002,882.402,964.003,046.403,128.803,211.20
GS-92,728.802,819.202,910.403,001.603,092.803,183.203,274.403,365.603,456.003,547.20
GS-103,004.803,104.803,204.803,304.803,405.603,505.603,605.603,705.603,805.603,905.60
GS-113,301.603,411.203,521.603,631.203,741.603,852.003,961.604,072.004,181.604,292.00
GS-123,956.804,088.804,220.804,352.804,484.804,616.804,748.004,880.005,012.005,144.00
GS-134,705.604,862.405,019.205,176.005,332.805,489.605,646.405,803.205,960.006,116.80
GS-145,560.005,745.605,931.206,116.006,301.606,487.206,672.006,857.607,043.207,228.80
GS-156,540.006,758.406,976.007,194.407,412.007,559.207,559.207,559.207,559.207,559.20
Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-HOU, matched cell by cell.

At 35.00%, its locality payment is the fourth-highest of the 58 areas.

5 of its 150 cells, from GS-15 step 6 up, are held to the $197,200 statutory ceiling, the third-most of the 58 areas, shared with Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA.

Under the 2027 proposal this area keeps 35.00% and GS-12 step 5 keeps $116,990 (2027 pay raise; compare with Rest of U.S.).

Locality pay in Houston, TX since 2016

0%25%50%20162026
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, %20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Houston, TX29.1130.9731.7432.5433.3233.3233.9634.4734.7235.0035.00
Rest of U.S.14.3515.0615.3715.6715.9515.9516.2016.5016.8217.0617.06

What the 1990 pay law’s formula would pay in Houston, TX

Federal Salary Council estimates for Houston, TX 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 inData as ofListed asPay gap, %Formula rate, %Rate paid that year, %
2026March 2024Locality pay area51.0743.8835.00
2025March 2023Locality pay area58.4750.9235.00
2024March 2022Locality pay area50.8943.7034.72
2023March 2021Locality pay area56.7049.2434.47
2022March 2020Locality pay area60.4252.7833.96
2021March 2019Locality pay area66.3758.4533.32
2020March 2018Locality pay area73.9265.6433.32
2019March 2017Locality pay area76.8468.4232.54
2018March 2016Locality pay area75.3567.0031.74

The formula would pay Houston, TX 43.88%, 8.88 points above the 35.00% paid in 2026, the second-narrowest distance between formula and pay of the 57 areas with a formula rate.

Across the nine editions checked here, the estimate for Houston, TX has run from 50.89% (for pay in 2024) to 76.84% (for pay in 2019), the second-widest swing of the 56 areas with a gap in all of them.

Since the edition for pay in 2018, the first checked here, the estimate for Houston, TX has fallen 24.28 points, from 75.35% to 51.07%, the biggest fall of the 56 areas with a gap in all nine editions.

What a GS-12 step 5 buys after local prices

The areas ranked next to Houston, TX 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.
#LocalityOn paperPrice levelWhat it buys
1Laredo, TX$105,36987.0$121,175
2Houston-The Woodlands, TX$116,99098.6$118,616
3Davenport-Moline, IA-IL$103,06489.1$115,700
4Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH$105,22192.7$113,514
5Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN$105,64693.1$113,510

A GS-12 step 5 here buys $118,616 at national average prices, the second-most of the 57 areas with a price index.

Federal jobs in Houston, TX

Federal civilian jobs at worksites in the 19 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 13,060 federal jobs in Texas without a county; they belong to no area. Sources and caveats.
YearFederal civilian jobsShare of all jobs, %Average pay per job
202333,2241.00$102,912
202434,4561.03$108,414
202534,2221.01$112,726

Federal jobs of every pay system are 1.01% of all jobs here, the third-lowest share of the 58 areas, shared with Phoenix, AZ.

Federal jobs here fell from 2024 to 2025, 234 fewer than in 2024, down 0.68%, the third-smallest drop of the 55 areas where they fell, and the 2025 average still counts staff on paid administrative leave until 30 September.

Counties in Houston-The Woodlands, TX

19 counties paid at this rate

Texas, 19 counties

  • Austin County
  • Brazoria County
  • Chambers County
  • Colorado County (added 2024)
  • Fort Bend County
  • Galveston County
  • Grimes County (added 2024)
  • Harris County
  • Jackson County (added 2024)
  • Liberty County
  • Madison County (added 2024)
  • Matagorda County
  • Montgomery County
  • San Jacinto County
  • Trinity County
  • Walker County
  • Waller County
  • Washington County
  • Wharton County
Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions. The duty station’s county counts (how that works).