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. Georgia

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

Georgia GS pay scale 2026: the 2 locality pay areas in the state

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 in Georgia is paid $107,275 in Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL and $101,443 in the rest of the state, which is on the Rest of U.S. rate.

Spread at GS-12 step 5

$5,832

Goes furthest

$107,213At U.S. prices, in Atlanta, GA.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$5,832over $101,443

Which areas cover Georgia, and what each pays

GS-12 step 5 in 2026 in each area that covers Georgia, what it buys at national average prices (BEA price level, U.S. = 100) and how many of the state’s 159 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-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$107,21358
Rest of U.S.17.06%$101,443——101
Counties of Georgia 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, GABanks County, Barrow County, Bartow County, Butts County, Carroll County, Chattahoochee County, Cherokee County, Clarke County, Clayton County, Cobb County, Coweta County, Dawson County, DeKalb County, Douglas County, Elbert County, Fayette County, Floyd County, Forsyth County, Franklin County, Fulton County, Gilmer County, Gordon County, Greene County, Gwinnett County, Habersham County, Hall County, Haralson County, Harris County, Heard County, Henry County, Jackson County, Jasper County, Lamar County, Lumpkin County, Madison County, Marion County, Meriwether County, Morgan County, Muscogee County, Newton County, Oconee County, Oglethorpe County, Paulding County, Pickens County, Pike County, Polk County, Putnam County, Rabun County, Rockdale County, Spalding County, Stephens County, Stewart County, Talbot County, Taliaferro County, Troup County, Upson County, Walton County, White County
Rest of U.S.all other counties of Georgia (101)

Federal jobs in Georgia, area by area

110,569 federal civilian jobs in Georgia in 2025, 2.26% of all jobs in the state, 2,227 fewer than in 2024, down 1.97%, by the locality pay area of the worksite county; every federal pay system counted. The share is of the 108,872 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 5 jobs, from rounding of annual averages. Sources and caveats.
Locality pay areaFederal jobs, 2025Share, %Change from 2024
Atlanta, GA63,65758.5−1,070
Rest of U.S.45,21541.5−806
No county reported1,702——

Every grade at step 5 in Georgia

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 SpringsRest of U.S.
GS-131,67729,954
GS-234,48532,611
GS-338,87536,762
GS-443,63741,265
GS-548,82246,167
GS-654,42251,463
GS-760,47657,188
GS-866,97363,332
GS-973,97669,954
GS-1081,45977,030
GS-1189,50484,638
GS-12107,275101,443
GS-13127,564120,629
GS-14150,744142,549
GS-15177,312167,672

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, GA58Alabama