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

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  1. GS pay scale 2026
  2. States
  3. Alabama

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

Alabama GS pay scale 2026: the 4 locality pay areas in the state

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 in Alabama is paid $101,443 to $107,275, depending on which of its 4 locality pay areas, Rest of U.S. included, the duty station is in.

Spread at GS-12 step 5

$5,832

Goes furthest

$113,510At U.S. prices, in Huntsville, AL.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$5,832over $101,443

Which areas cover Alabama, and what each pays

GS-12 step 5 in 2026 in each area that covers Alabama, what it buys at national average prices (BEA price level, U.S. = 100) and how many of the state’s 67 counties it covers; the county of the duty station decides (how that works). Source: the OPM 2026 General Schedule table of each area — Salary Table 2026-ATL (Atlanta, GA), Salary Table 2026-HNT (Huntsville, AL), Salary Table 2026-BH (Birmingham, AL), Salary Table 2026-RUS (Rest of U.S.).
Locality pay areaLocality payOn paperPrice levelWhat it buysCounties here
Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL23.79%$107,275100.1$107,2136
Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN21.91%$105,64693.1$113,5108
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL18.24%$102,46691.6$111,80919
Rest of U.S.17.06%$101,443——34

Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL pays $107,275, the most in Alabama, but Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN pays $105,646 and leaves you $6,297 better off once local prices are counted, the third-largest such gap of the 17 states where the best-paid area is not the one that goes furthest.

Counties of Alabama in each locality pay area, as OPM’s 2026 definitions list them; the county of the duty station decides (how that works).
Locality pay areaCounties
Atlanta, GAChambers County, Cherokee County, Cleburne County, Lee County, Randolph County, Russell County
Huntsville, ALColbert County, DeKalb County, Lauderdale County, Lawrence County, Limestone County, Madison County, Marshall County, Morgan County
Birmingham, ALBibb County, Blount County, Calhoun County, Chilton County, Clay County, Coosa County, Cullman County, Etowah County, Greene County, Hale County, Jefferson County, Pickens County, Shelby County, St. Clair County, Talladega County, Tallapoosa County, Tuscaloosa County, Walker County, Winston County
Rest of U.S.all other counties of Alabama (34)

Federal jobs in Alabama, area by area

56,757 federal civilian jobs in Alabama in 2025, 2.68% of all jobs in the state, 1,375 fewer than in 2024, down 2.37%, by the locality pay area of the worksite county; every federal pay system counted. The share is of the 54,562 jobs BLS places in a county. BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024, 2025. The state total BLS publishes differs from the sum of its county rows by 1 job, from rounding of annual averages. Sources and caveats.
Locality pay areaFederal jobs, 2025Share, %Change from 2024
Huntsville, AL22,68041.6−300
Birmingham, AL15,85129.1−464
Rest of U.S.15,33728.1−687
Atlanta, GA6941.3+10
No county reported2,194——

Every grade at step 5 in Alabama

Annual rates in U.S. dollars at step 5; ▲ marks a cell cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling. For any other step, the pay calculator finds the area from a ZIP code.
GradeAtlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy SpringsHuntsville-DecaturBirmingham-Hoover-TalladegaRest of U.S.
GS-131,67731,19630,25629,954
GS-234,48533,96232,93932,611
GS-338,87538,28537,13236,762
GS-443,63742,97441,68141,265
GS-548,82248,08046,63346,167
GS-654,42253,59551,98251,463
GS-760,47659,55857,76557,188
GS-866,97365,95663,97063,332
GS-973,97672,85270,65969,954
GS-1081,45980,22277,80777,030
GS-1189,50488,14585,49184,638
GS-12107,275105,646102,466101,443
GS-13127,564125,627121,845120,629
GS-14150,744148,455143,986142,549
GS-15177,312174,619169,362167,672

What a move inside Alabama is worth after prices

A transfer at GS-12 step 5 between areas of Alabama: the raise on paper, what it is worth at national average prices, and how much of it is left. Tax and housing are not in these figures (what the comparison leaves out).
MoveOn paperAfter pricesKept
Huntsville, AL to Atlanta, GA+$1,629−$6,297none
Birmingham, AL to Atlanta, GA+$4,809−$4,596none
Birmingham, AL to Huntsville, AL+$3,180+$1,70153%

Where else these areas reach

Locality pay areas are lists of counties and ignore state lines: inside one area a move across a state line does not change pay (how that works; every state and the areas in it).
AreaCounties hereAlso covers
Atlanta, GA6Georgia
Huntsville, AL8Tennessee
Birmingham, AL19nowhere else