GS pay scale 2026
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

San Diego, CA GS pay scale 2026: 33.72% locality pay

In 2026 the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA locality pay area adds 33.72% to the General Schedule base table: a GS-12 step 5 earns $115,880, and the 150 rates run from $30,199 to $197,200, the statutory ceiling.

GS-12 step 5, assembled

Base rate: $86,659
Locality pay, 33.72%: + $29,221
Annual rate: $115,880

$4,441.60 every two weeks, $55.52 an hour, $55.80 an overtime hour.

#6 on paper, #46 after prices

−40Places lost, of 57 areas with a price index.

Buys at U.S. prices

$103,569Price level 111.9, U.S. = 100, for San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA.

Ceiling watch

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

Against Rest of U.S.

+$14,437over $101,443 at GS-12 step 5, on paper.

Rest of U.S. buys as much at

97.9or lower prices, U.S. = 100, against 111.9 here; 24 of the 57 priced areas are that cheap (the two side by side).

Key facts

Rank on paper, GS-12 step 5: #6 of 57
Rank after local prices: #46 of 57
Locality pay change since 2016: +8.99 points
Rank of that change: #4 of 58
Pay gap, latest council estimate: 78.28%
Rate the 1990 formula would set: 69.79%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025: 47,564
Share of all jobs here: 3.10%
Largest county by federal jobs: San Diego County, CA: 47,564

Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

A yearAn hourEvery two weeks

Every 2026 rate in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 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	30,199	31,212	32,216	33,216	34,218	34,805	35,798	36,798	36,840	37,773
GS-2	33,956	34,763	35,889	36,840	37,252	38,347	39,442	40,537	41,632	42,728
GS-3	37,051	38,287	39,522	40,758	41,993	43,229	44,465	45,700	46,936	48,171
GS-4	41,591	42,978	44,364	45,751	47,138	48,524	49,911	51,298	52,684	54,071
GS-5	46,533	48,084	49,636	51,187	52,738	54,289	55,840	57,391	58,942	60,494
GS-6	51,871	53,600	55,329	57,058	58,787	60,516	62,245	63,974	65,703	67,432
GS-7	57,641	59,563	61,484	63,406	65,328	67,249	69,171	71,092	73,014	74,935
GS-8	63,835	65,963	68,090	70,218	72,345	74,473	76,600	78,728	80,855	82,983
GS-9	70,507	72,857	75,208	77,559	79,910	82,261	84,611	86,962	89,313	91,664
GS-10	77,643	80,231	82,818	85,406	87,993	90,581	93,168	95,756	98,343	100,931
GS-11	85,307	88,151	90,995	93,839	96,684	99,528	102,372	105,216	108,060	110,905
GS-12	102,246	105,655	109,063	112,472	115,880	119,289	122,697	126,106	129,515	132,923
GS-13	121,585	125,638	129,691	133,744	137,797	141,850	145,903	149,956	154,009	158,062
GS-14	143,677	148,467	153,256	158,046	162,836	167,626	172,416	177,206	181,996	186,785
GS-15	169,001	174,634	180,268	185,902	191,535	197,169	197,200	197,200	197,200	197,200

Hourly rates in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 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	14.47	14.96	15.44	15.92	16.40	16.68	17.15	17.63	17.65	18.10
GS-2	16.27	16.66	17.20	17.65	17.85	18.37	18.90	19.42	19.95	20.47
GS-3	17.75	18.35	18.94	19.53	20.12	20.71	21.31	21.90	22.49	23.08
GS-4	19.93	20.59	21.26	21.92	22.59	23.25	23.92	24.58	25.24	25.91
GS-5	22.30	23.04	23.78	24.53	25.27	26.01	26.76	27.50	28.24	28.99
GS-6	24.85	25.68	26.51	27.34	28.17	29.00	29.83	30.65	31.48	32.31
GS-7	27.62	28.54	29.46	30.38	31.30	32.22	33.14	34.06	34.99	35.91
GS-8	30.59	31.61	32.63	33.65	34.66	35.68	36.70	37.72	38.74	39.76
GS-9	33.78	34.91	36.04	37.16	38.29	39.42	40.54	41.67	42.79	43.92
GS-10	37.20	38.44	39.68	40.92	42.16	43.40	44.64	45.88	47.12	48.36
GS-11	40.88	42.24	43.60	44.96	46.33	47.69	49.05	50.41	51.78	53.14
GS-12	48.99	50.63	52.26	53.89	55.52	57.16	58.79	60.42	62.06	63.69
GS-13	58.26	60.20	62.14	64.08	66.03	67.97	69.91	71.85	73.79	75.74
GS-14	68.84	71.14	73.43	75.73	78.02	80.32	82.61	84.91	87.20	89.50
GS-15	80.98	83.68	86.38	89.08	91.78	94.47	94.49	94.49	94.49	94.49

Biweekly rates in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 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	1,157.60	1,196.80	1,235.20	1,273.60	1,312.00	1,334.40	1,372.00	1,410.40	1,412.00	1,448.00
GS-2	1,301.60	1,332.80	1,376.00	1,412.00	1,428.00	1,469.60	1,512.00	1,553.60	1,596.00	1,637.60
GS-3	1,420.00	1,468.00	1,515.20	1,562.40	1,609.60	1,656.80	1,704.80	1,752.00	1,799.20	1,846.40
GS-4	1,594.40	1,647.20	1,700.80	1,753.60	1,807.20	1,860.00	1,913.60	1,966.40	2,019.20	2,072.80
GS-5	1,784.00	1,843.20	1,902.40	1,962.40	2,021.60	2,080.80	2,140.80	2,200.00	2,259.20	2,319.20
GS-6	1,988.00	2,054.40	2,120.80	2,187.20	2,253.60	2,320.00	2,386.40	2,452.00	2,518.40	2,584.80
GS-7	2,209.60	2,283.20	2,356.80	2,430.40	2,504.00	2,577.60	2,651.20	2,724.80	2,799.20	2,872.80
GS-8	2,447.20	2,528.80	2,610.40	2,692.00	2,772.80	2,854.40	2,936.00	3,017.60	3,099.20	3,180.80
GS-9	2,702.40	2,792.80	2,883.20	2,972.80	3,063.20	3,153.60	3,243.20	3,333.60	3,423.20	3,513.60
GS-10	2,976.00	3,075.20	3,174.40	3,273.60	3,372.80	3,472.00	3,571.20	3,670.40	3,769.60	3,868.80
GS-11	3,270.40	3,379.20	3,488.00	3,596.80	3,706.40	3,815.20	3,924.00	4,032.80	4,142.40	4,251.20
GS-12	3,919.20	4,050.40	4,180.80	4,311.20	4,441.60	4,572.80	4,703.20	4,833.60	4,964.80	5,095.20
GS-13	4,660.80	4,816.00	4,971.20	5,126.40	5,282.40	5,437.60	5,592.80	5,748.00	5,903.20	6,059.20
GS-14	5,507.20	5,691.20	5,874.40	6,058.40	6,241.60	6,425.60	6,608.80	6,792.80	6,976.00	7,160.00
GS-15	6,478.40	6,694.40	6,910.40	7,126.40	7,342.40	7,557.60	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-SD, matched cell by cell.

Under the 2027 proposal this area keeps 33.72% and GS-12 step 5 keeps $115,880 (2027 pay raise; compare with Rest of U.S.).

Locality pay in San Diego, CA 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
San Diego, CA	24.73	26.98	27.88	28.80	29.77	29.77	30.87	32.01	33.05	33.72	33.72
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

From 2016 to 2026 its locality payment rose 8.99 percentage points, from 24.73% to 33.72%, the fourth-largest rise of the 58 areas.

Among the 46 areas with a table of their own since 2016, it has climbed from 10th to 6th by locality percentage, the fifth-biggest climb of them, shared with Washington, DC and Seattle, WA.

What the 1990 pay law’s formula would pay in San Diego, CA

Federal Salary Council estimates for San Diego, CA 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	78.28	69.79	33.72
2025	March 2023	Locality pay area	80.50	71.90	33.72
2024	March 2022	Locality pay area	78.02	69.54	33.05
2023	March 2021	Locality pay area	73.30	65.05	32.01
2022	March 2020	Locality pay area	71.75	63.57	30.87
2021	March 2019	Locality pay area	76.97	68.54	29.77
2020	March 2018	Locality pay area	78.76	70.25	29.77
2019	March 2017	Locality pay area	78.60	70.10	28.80
2018	March 2016	Locality pay area	77.56	69.10	27.88

The formula would pay San Diego, CA 69.79%, 36.07 points above the 33.72% paid in 2026, the fourth-widest distance between formula and pay of the 57 areas with a formula rate.

What a GS-12 step 5 buys after local prices

The areas ranked next to San Diego, CA 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
43	Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA	$103,497	98.7	$104,913
44	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA	$118,264	113.6	$104,137
45	Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA	$109,303	105.4	$103,682
46	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$115,880	111.9	$103,569
47	Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ	$103,618	100.2	$103,396
48	Colorado Springs, CO	$104,121	100.7	$103,390
49	Phoenix-Mesa, AZ	$106,114	103.3	$102,708

Local prices here, 111.9 against a U.S. average of 100, are the fifth-highest of the 57 areas with a price index.

It ranks #6 on paper and #46 once local prices are counted, a drop of 40 places, the second-biggest of the 57 areas, shared with Seattle, WA.

Federal jobs in San Diego, CA

Federal civilian jobs at worksites in San Diego County, California, 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 9,710 federal jobs in California without a county; they belong to no area. Sources and caveats.
Year	Federal civilian jobs	Share of all jobs, %	Average pay per job
2023	47,550	3.12	$104,262
2024	48,138	3.13	$109,083
2025	47,564	3.10	$111,044

Counties in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

1 county paid at this rate

California, 1 county

San Diego County

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