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

This is not a U.S. government website. GS Pay Tables is an independent reference, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or any federal agency.Not affiliated with OPM or any federal agency.

Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA$116,071a year$4,449.60Every two weeks$55.62Per hour$55.89Overtime hour#5On paper#33After prices
  1. GS pay scale 2026
  2. Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

Washington, DC GS pay scale 2026: 33.94% locality pay

In 2026 the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA locality pay area adds 33.94% to the General Schedule base table: a GS-12 step 5 earns $116,071, and the 150 rates run from $30,249 to $197,200, the statutory ceiling.

GS-12 step 5, assembled

Base rate
$86,659
Locality pay, 33.94%
+ $29,412
Annual rate
$116,071

$4,449.60 every two weeks, $55.62 an hour, $55.89 an overtime hour.

#5 on paper, #33 after prices

−28Places lost, of 57 areas with a price index.

Buys at U.S. prices

$106,601Price level 108.9, U.S. = 100, for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV.

Ceiling watch

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

Against Rest of U.S.

+$14,628over $101,443 at GS-12 step 5, on paper.

Rest of U.S. buys as much at

95.2or lower prices, U.S. = 100, against 108.9 here; 13 of the 57 priced areas are that cheap (the two side by side).

Key facts

Rank on paper, GS-12 step 5
#5 of 57
Rank after local prices
#33 of 57
Locality pay change since 2016
+9.16 points
Rank of that change
#3 of 58
Pay gap, latest council estimate
79.39%
Rate the 1990 formula would set
70.85%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025
438,353
Share of all jobs here
8.43%
Largest county by federal jobs
The District of Columbia: 185,546
Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate in Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA

Every 2026 rate in Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA, 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-130,24931,26332,26933,27134,27434,86235,85736,85936,90037,835
GS-234,01134,82035,94836,90037,31338,41039,50740,60441,70142,798
GS-337,11238,35039,58740,82542,06343,30044,53845,77547,01348,251
GS-441,65943,04844,43745,82647,21548,60449,99351,38252,77154,160
GS-546,61048,16349,71751,27152,82554,37855,93257,48659,03960,593
GS-651,95753,68955,42057,15258,88460,61662,34864,08065,81167,543
GS-757,73659,66161,58663,51065,43567,36069,28471,20973,13475,059
GS-863,94066,07168,20270,33372,46474,59576,72678,85780,98883,119
GS-970,62372,97775,33277,68780,04182,39684,75187,10589,46091,815
GS-1077,77180,36382,95485,54688,13890,73093,32195,91398,505101,097
GS-1185,44788,29691,14593,99496,84399,692102,540105,389108,238111,087
GS-12102,415105,829109,243112,657116,071119,485122,899126,313129,728133,142
GS-13121,785125,845129,904133,964138,024142,084146,143150,203154,263158,322
GS-14143,913148,711153,509158,306163,104167,902172,700177,497182,295187,093
GS-15169,279174,922180,565186,207191,850197,200197,200197,200197,200197,200
Hourly rates in Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA, 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-114.4914.9815.4615.9416.4216.7017.1817.6617.6818.13
GS-216.3016.6817.2217.6817.8818.4018.9319.4619.9820.51
GS-317.7818.3818.9719.5620.1520.7521.3421.9322.5323.12
GS-419.9620.6321.2921.9622.6223.2923.9524.6225.2925.95
GS-522.3323.0823.8224.5725.3126.0626.8027.5428.2929.03
GS-624.9025.7326.5527.3828.2129.0429.8730.7031.5332.36
GS-727.6628.5929.5130.4331.3532.2833.2034.1235.0435.97
GS-830.6431.6632.6833.7034.7235.7436.7637.7838.8139.83
GS-933.8434.9736.1037.2238.3539.4840.6141.7442.8743.99
GS-1037.2638.5139.7540.9942.2343.4744.7245.9647.2048.44
GS-1140.9442.3143.6745.0446.4047.7749.1350.5051.8653.23
GS-1249.0750.7152.3453.9855.6257.2558.8960.5262.1663.80
GS-1358.3560.3062.2464.1966.1468.0870.0371.9773.9275.86
GS-1468.9671.2673.5575.8578.1580.4582.7585.0587.3589.65
GS-1581.1183.8286.5289.2291.9394.4994.4994.4994.4994.49
Biweekly rates in Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA, 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-11,159.201,198.401,236.801,275.201,313.601,336.001,374.401,412.801,414.401,450.40
GS-21,304.001,334.401,377.601,414.401,430.401,472.001,514.401,556.801,598.401,640.80
GS-31,422.401,470.401,517.601,564.801,612.001,660.001,707.201,754.401,802.401,849.60
GS-41,596.801,650.401,703.201,756.801,809.601,863.201,916.001,969.602,023.202,076.00
GS-51,786.401,846.401,905.601,965.602,024.802,084.802,144.002,203.202,263.202,322.40
GS-61,992.002,058.402,124.002,190.402,256.802,323.202,389.602,456.002,522.402,588.80
GS-72,212.802,287.202,360.802,434.402,508.002,582.402,656.002,729.602,803.202,877.60
GS-82,451.202,532.802,614.402,696.002,777.602,859.202,940.803,022.403,104.803,186.40
GS-92,707.202,797.602,888.002,977.603,068.003,158.403,248.803,339.203,429.603,519.20
GS-102,980.803,080.803,180.003,279.203,378.403,477.603,577.603,676.803,776.003,875.20
GS-113,275.203,384.803,493.603,603.203,712.003,821.603,930.404,040.004,148.804,258.40
GS-123,925.604,056.804,187.204,318.404,449.604,580.004,711.204,841.604,972.805,104.00
GS-134,668.004,824.004,979.205,135.205,291.205,446.405,602.405,757.605,913.606,068.80
GS-145,516.805,700.805,884.006,068.006,252.006,436.006,620.006,804.006,988.007,172.00
GS-156,488.806,705.606,921.607,137.607,354.407,559.207,559.207,559.207,559.207,559.20
Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-DCB, matched cell by cell.

At 33.94%, its locality payment is the fifth-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 Houston, TX and Los Angeles, CA.

Under the 2027 proposal this area keeps 33.94% and GS-12 step 5 keeps $116,071 (2027 pay raise; compare with Rest of U.S.).

Locality pay in Washington, DC 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
Washington, DC24.7827.1028.2229.3230.4830.4831.5332.4933.2633.9433.94
Rest of U.S.14.3515.0615.3715.6715.9515.9516.2016.5016.8217.0617.06

From 2016 to 2026 its locality payment rose 9.16 percentage points, from 24.78% to 33.94%, the third-largest rise of the 58 areas.

Among the 46 areas with a table of their own since 2016, it has climbed from 9th to 5th by locality percentage, the fifth-biggest climb of them, shared with San Diego, CA and Seattle, WA.

In 2024 OPM added 10 counties in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia to it, the fifth-most it added to any area.

What the 1990 pay law’s formula would pay in Washington, DC

Federal Salary Council estimates for Washington, DC 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 area79.3970.8533.94
2025March 2023Locality pay area81.4272.7833.94
2024March 2022Locality pay area68.4360.4133.26
2023March 2021Locality pay area68.2460.2332.49
2022March 2020Locality pay area70.7662.6331.53
2021March 2019Locality pay area77.0768.6430.48
2020March 2018Locality pay area87.4778.5430.48
2019March 2017Locality pay area87.7578.8129.32
2018March 2016Locality pay area88.6379.6528.22

The formula would pay Washington, DC 70.85%, 36.91 points above the 33.94% paid in 2026, the third-widest distance between formula and pay of the 57 areas with a formula rate.

The latest estimate puts non-federal pay for the same work here 79.39% above General Schedule base pay, the fifth-largest gap of the 58 areas.

Across the nine editions checked here, the estimate for Washington, DC has run from 68.24% (for pay in 2023) to 88.63% (for pay in 2018), the fourth-widest swing of the 56 areas with a gap in all of them.

What a GS-12 step 5 buys after local prices

The areas ranked next to Washington, DC 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
30Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK$110,282103.1$106,976
31Denver-Aurora, CO$113,107105.8$106,925
32Tucson-Nogales, AZ$103,36796.9$106,678
33Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA$116,071108.9$106,601
34Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC$103,70597.3$106,530
35Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX$104,29498.1$106,351
36New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA$119,546112.6$106,204

Federal jobs in Washington, DC

Federal civilian jobs at worksites in the 55 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 12,528 federal jobs in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia without a county; they belong to no area. Sources and caveats.
YearFederal civilian jobsShare of all jobs, %Average pay per job
2023453,4568.84$130,628
2024459,9448.82$135,029
2025438,3538.43$140,040

Its 438,353 federal civilian jobs in 2025, the Postal Service included, are the second-largest federal workforce of the 58 areas.

Federal jobs of every pay system are 8.43% of all jobs here, the highest share of the 58 areas; next comes Virginia Beach, VA (7.24%).

Average pay per federal job, overtime included, was $140,040 in 2025, the highest of the 58 areas; across all 58 it was $105,058.

Federal jobs here fell from 2024 to 2025, 21,591 fewer than in 2024, down 4.69%, the fourth-steepest drop of the 55 areas where they fell, and the 2025 average still counts staff on paid administrative leave until 30 September.

Counties in Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA

55 counties paid at this rate

The District of Columbia, 1 county

  • District of Columbia

Maryland, 19 counties

  • Allegany County (added 2024)
  • Anne Arundel County
  • Baltimore County
  • Baltimore city
  • Calvert County
  • Caroline County (added 2024)
  • Carroll County
  • Charles County
  • Dorchester County
  • Frederick County
  • Harford County
  • Howard County
  • Kent County
  • Montgomery County
  • Prince George's County
  • Queen Anne's County
  • St. Mary's County
  • Talbot County
  • Washington County

Pennsylvania, 4 counties

  • Adams County
  • Franklin County
  • Fulton County (added 2024)
  • York County

Virginia, 25 counties

  • Alexandria city
  • Arlington County
  • Caroline County (added 2024)
  • Clarke County
  • Culpeper County
  • Fairfax County
  • Fairfax city
  • Falls Church city
  • Fauquier County
  • Frederick County
  • Fredericksburg city
  • King George County
  • Loudoun County
  • Madison County (added 2024)
  • Manassas Park city
  • Manassas city
  • Orange County (added 2024)
  • Prince William County
  • Rappahannock County
  • Shenandoah County (added 2024)
  • Spotsylvania County
  • Stafford County
  • Warren County
  • Westmoreland County (added 2024)
  • Winchester city

West Virginia, 6 counties

  • Berkeley County
  • Hampshire County
  • Hardy County (added 2024)
  • Jefferson County
  • Mineral County (added 2024)
  • Morgan County
Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions. The duty station’s county counts (how that works).

Its 55 counties are the second-most of any area.

Its counties lie in four states and the District of Columbia, the second-most of any area.

It is the only locality pay area in the District of Columbia.