58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

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

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 in Arizona is paid $101,443 to $106,114, 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

$4,671

Goes furthest

$106,678At U.S. prices, in Tucson, AZ.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$4,671over $101,443

Which areas cover Arizona, and what each pays

GS-12 step 5 in 2026 in each area that covers Arizona, what it buys at national average prices (BEA price level, U.S. = 100) and how many of the state’s 15 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-PX (Phoenix, AZ), Salary Table 2026-LV (Las Vegas, NV), Salary Table 2026-TU (Tucson, AZ), Salary Table 2026-RUS (Rest of U.S.).
Locality pay area	Locality pay	On paper	Price level	What it buys	Counties here
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ	22.45%	$106,114	103.3	$102,708	3
Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ	19.57%	$103,618	100.2	$103,396	1
Tucson-Nogales, AZ	19.28%	$103,367	96.9	$106,678	3
Rest of U.S.	17.06%	$101,443	—	—	8

Phoenix-Mesa, AZ pays $106,114, the most in Arizona, but Tucson-Nogales, AZ pays $103,367 and leaves you $3,970 better off once local prices are counted.

Counties of Arizona in each locality pay area, as OPM’s 2026 definitions list them; the county of the duty station decides (how that works).
Locality pay area	Counties
Phoenix, AZ	Gila County, Maricopa County, Pinal County
Las Vegas, NV	Mohave County
Tucson, AZ	Cochise County, Pima County, Santa Cruz County
Rest of U.S.	all other counties of Arizona (8)

Federal jobs in Arizona, area by area

57,552 federal civilian jobs in Arizona in 2025, 1.78% of all jobs in the state, 1,625 fewer than in 2024, down 2.75%, by the locality pay area of the worksite county; every federal pay system counted. The share is of the 55,393 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 area	Federal jobs, 2025	Share, %	Change from 2024
Phoenix, AZ	23,975	43.3	−54
Tucson, AZ	18,330	33.1	−665
Rest of U.S.	12,570	22.7	−929
Las Vegas, NV	518	0.9	−19
No county reported	2,158	—	—

Every grade at step 5 in Arizona

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.
Grade	Phoenix-Mesa	Las Vegas-Henderson	Tucson-Nogales	Rest of U.S.
GS-1	31,334	30,597	30,523	29,954
GS-2	34,112	33,310	33,229	32,611
GS-3	38,454	37,550	37,459	36,762
GS-4	43,165	42,150	42,047	41,265
GS-5	48,293	47,157	47,043	46,167
GS-6	53,833	52,567	52,439	51,463
GS-7	59,822	58,415	58,273	57,188
GS-8	66,248	64,690	64,533	63,332
GS-9	73,175	71,454	71,281	69,954
GS-10	80,577	78,682	78,491	77,030
GS-11	88,535	86,453	86,243	84,638
GS-12	106,114	103,618	103,367	101,443
GS-13	126,184	123,216	122,917	120,629
GS-14	149,112	145,605	145,252	142,549
GS-15	175,392	171,267	170,852	167,672

What a move inside Arizona is worth after prices

A transfer at GS-12 step 5 between areas of Arizona: 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).
Move	On paper	After prices	Kept
Las Vegas, NV to Phoenix, AZ	+$2,496	−$688	none
Tucson, AZ to Phoenix, AZ	+$2,747	−$3,970	none
Tucson, AZ to Las Vegas, NV	+$251	−$3,283	none

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).
Area	Counties here	Also covers
Phoenix, AZ	3	nowhere else
Las Vegas, NV	1	Nevada
Tucson, AZ	3	nowhere else