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

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Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC$105,932a year$4,060.80Every two weeks$50.76Per hour$51.02Overtime hour#25On paper#26After prices
  1. GS pay scale 2026
  2. Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

Raleigh & Durham GS pay scale 2026: 22.24% locality pay

In 2026 the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC locality pay area adds 22.24% to the General Schedule base table: a GS-12 step 5 earns $105,932, and the 150 rates run from $27,607 to $197,200, the statutory ceiling.

GS-12 step 5, assembled

Base rate
$86,659
Locality pay, 22.24%
+ $19,273
Annual rate
$105,932

$4,060.80 every two weeks, $50.76 an hour, $51.02 an overtime hour.

#25 on paper, #26 after prices

−1Places lost, of 57 areas with a price index.

Buys at U.S. prices

$107,921Price level 98.2, U.S. = 100, for Raleigh-Cary, NC.

Ceiling watch

1 of 150GS-15 step 10 is held to $197,200.

Key facts

Rank on paper, GS-12 step 5
#25 of 57
Rank after local prices
#26 of 57
Locality pay change since 2016
+4.30 points
Rank of that change
#41 of 58
Pay gap, latest council estimate
44.54%
Rate the 1990 formula would set
37.66%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025
32,315
Share of all jobs here
2.07%
Largest county by federal jobs
Cumberland County, NC: 14,866
Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate in Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC

Every 2026 rate in Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC, 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 one cell cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling.
Grade12345678910
GS-127,60728,53229,45030,36431,28031,81732,72533,63933,67734,530
GS-231,04031,77932,80833,67734,05435,05536,05637,05738,05839,059
GS-333,87035,00036,12937,25938,38839,51840,64741,77742,90644,036
GS-438,02039,28840,55641,82343,09144,35845,62646,89448,16149,429
GS-542,53843,95645,37446,79248,21049,62851,04652,46453,88255,300
GS-647,41848,99950,57952,16053,74055,32156,90158,48260,06361,643
GS-752,69354,44956,20657,96359,71961,47663,23264,98966,74568,502
GS-858,35560,30062,24564,18966,13468,07970,02471,96973,91475,858
GS-964,45366,60268,75170,90073,04975,19877,34779,49681,64583,794
GS-1070,97773,34375,70878,07380,43982,80485,16987,53589,90092,266
GS-1177,98380,58383,18385,78388,38390,98393,58396,18398,783101,383
GS-1293,46896,58499,700102,816105,932109,048112,164115,280118,396121,511
GS-13111,147114,852118,557122,262125,967129,672133,377137,082140,787144,493
GS-14131,342135,721140,099144,478148,857153,235157,614161,992166,371170,750
GS-15154,492159,642164,792169,942175,092180,242185,392190,542195,692197,200
Hourly rates in Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC, 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-113.2313.6714.1114.5514.9915.2515.6816.1216.1416.55
GS-214.8715.2315.7216.1416.3216.8017.2817.7618.2418.72
GS-316.2316.7717.3117.8518.3918.9419.4820.0220.5621.10
GS-418.2218.8319.4320.0420.6521.2521.8622.4723.0823.68
GS-520.3821.0621.7422.4223.1023.7824.4625.1425.8226.50
GS-622.7223.4824.2424.9925.7526.5127.2628.0228.7829.54
GS-725.2526.0926.9327.7728.6129.4630.3031.1431.9832.82
GS-827.9628.8929.8330.7631.6932.6233.5534.4835.4236.35
GS-930.8831.9132.9433.9735.0036.0337.0638.0939.1240.15
GS-1034.0135.1436.2837.4138.5439.6840.8141.9443.0844.21
GS-1137.3738.6139.8641.1042.3543.6044.8446.0947.3348.58
GS-1244.7946.2847.7749.2650.7652.2553.7455.2456.7358.22
GS-1353.2655.0356.8158.5860.3662.1363.9165.6867.4669.23
GS-1462.9365.0367.1369.2371.3373.4275.5277.6279.7281.82
GS-1574.0376.4978.9681.4383.9086.3688.8391.3093.7794.49
Biweekly rates in Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC, 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-11,058.401,093.601,128.801,164.001,199.201,220.001,254.401,289.601,291.201,324.00
GS-21,189.601,218.401,257.601,291.201,305.601,344.001,382.401,420.801,459.201,497.60
GS-31,298.401,341.601,384.801,428.001,471.201,515.201,558.401,601.601,644.801,688.00
GS-41,457.601,506.401,554.401,603.201,652.001,700.001,748.801,797.601,846.401,894.40
GS-51,630.401,684.801,739.201,793.601,848.001,902.401,956.802,011.202,065.602,120.00
GS-61,817.601,878.401,939.201,999.202,060.002,120.802,180.802,241.602,302.402,363.20
GS-72,020.002,087.202,154.402,221.602,288.802,356.802,424.002,491.202,558.402,625.60
GS-82,236.802,311.202,386.402,460.802,535.202,609.602,684.002,758.402,833.602,908.00
GS-92,470.402,552.802,635.202,717.602,800.002,882.402,964.803,047.203,129.603,212.00
GS-102,720.802,811.202,902.402,992.803,083.203,174.403,264.803,355.203,446.403,536.80
GS-112,989.603,088.803,188.803,288.003,388.003,488.003,587.203,687.203,786.403,886.40
GS-123,583.203,702.403,821.603,940.804,060.804,180.004,299.204,419.204,538.404,657.60
GS-134,260.804,402.404,544.804,686.404,828.804,970.405,112.805,254.405,396.805,538.40
GS-145,034.405,202.405,370.405,538.405,706.405,873.606,041.606,209.606,377.606,545.60
GS-155,922.406,119.206,316.806,514.406,712.006,908.807,106.407,304.007,501.607,559.20
Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-RA, matched cell by cell.

Under the 2027 proposal this area keeps 22.24% and GS-12 step 5 keeps $105,932 (2027 pay raise; compare with Rest of U.S.).

Locality pay in Raleigh, NC 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
Raleigh, NC17.9419.0219.5219.9920.4920.4920.9421.3721.9022.2422.24
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 Raleigh, NC

Federal Salary Council estimates for Raleigh, NC 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 area44.5437.6622.24
2025March 2023Locality pay area48.6041.5222.24
2024March 2022Locality pay area44.8837.9821.90
2023March 2021Locality pay area40.6933.9921.37
2022March 2020Locality pay area40.9634.2520.94
2021March 2019Locality pay area45.2638.3420.49
2020March 2018Locality pay area48.1441.0920.49
2019March 2017Locality pay area48.2841.2219.99
2018March 2016Locality pay area49.3642.2519.52

What a GS-12 step 5 buys after local prices

The areas ranked next to Raleigh, NC 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
23Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD$111,781102.6$108,997
24San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX$102,93494.7$108,676
25Richmond, VA$105,96797.9$108,286
26Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC$105,93298.2$107,921
27Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM$102,54495.5$107,324
28Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL$107,275100.1$107,213
29Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN$102,38895.7$106,993

Federal jobs in Raleigh, NC

Federal civilian jobs at worksites in the 24 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 6,810 federal jobs in North Carolina without a county; they belong to no area. Sources and caveats.
YearFederal civilian jobsShare of all jobs, %Average pay per job
202332,4612.14$88,817
202433,1592.15$93,245
202532,3152.07$95,825

Counties in Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC

24 counties paid at this rate

North Carolina, 24 counties

  • Caswell County (added 2024)
  • Chatham County
  • Cumberland County
  • Durham County
  • Edgecombe County (added 2024)
  • Franklin County
  • Granville County
  • Halifax County (added 2024)
  • Harnett County
  • Hoke County
  • Johnston County
  • Lee County
  • Moore County (added 2024)
  • Nash County (added 2024)
  • Northampton County (added 2024)
  • Orange County
  • Person County
  • Robeson County
  • Scotland County
  • Vance County
  • Wake County
  • Warren County (added 2024)
  • Wayne County
  • Wilson County (added 2024)
Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions. The duty station’s county counts (how that works).