58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

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

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 in Illinois is paid $101,443 to $113,402, 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

$11,959

Goes furthest

$115,700At U.S. prices, in Davenport, IA.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$11,959over $101,443

Which areas cover Illinois, and what each pays

GS-12 step 5 in 2026 in each area that covers Illinois, what it buys at national average prices (BEA price level, U.S. = 100) and how many of the state’s 102 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-CHI (Chicago, IL), Salary Table 2026-SL (St. Louis, MO), Salary Table 2026-DV (Davenport, IA), Salary Table 2026-RUS (Rest of U.S.).
Locality pay area	Locality pay	On paper	Price level	What it buys	Counties here
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI	30.86%	$113,402	103.6	$109,467	18
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL	20.03%	$104,017	95.1	$109,390	14
Davenport-Moline, IA-IL	18.93%	$103,064	89.1	$115,700	6
Rest of U.S.	17.06%	$101,443	—	—	64

Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI pays $113,402, the most in Illinois, but Davenport-Moline, IA-IL pays $103,064 and leaves you $6,233 better off once local prices are counted, the fourth-largest such gap of the 17 states where the best-paid area is not the one that goes furthest.

Price levels across its areas run from 89.1 in Davenport, IA to 103.6 in Chicago, IL, the fourth-widest range of the 24 states with two or more priced areas.

Counties of Illinois 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
Chicago, IL	Boone County, Bureau County, Cook County, DeKalb County, DuPage County, Grundy County, Iroquois County, Kane County, Kankakee County, Kendall County, LaSalle County, Lake County, McHenry County, Ogle County, Putnam County, Stephenson County, Will County, Winnebago County
St. Louis, MO	Bond County, Calhoun County, Clinton County, Fayette County, Greene County, Jersey County, Macoupin County, Madison County, Marion County, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Randolph County, St. Clair County, Washington County
Davenport, IA	Carroll County, Henry County, Lee County, Mercer County, Rock Island County, Whiteside County
Rest of U.S.	all other counties of Illinois (64)

Federal jobs in Illinois, area by area

79,743 federal civilian jobs in Illinois in 2025, 1.31% of all jobs in the state, 2,582 fewer than in 2024, down 3.14%, by the locality pay area of the worksite county; every federal pay system counted. The share is of the 79,140 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 9 jobs, from rounding of annual averages. Sources and caveats.
Locality pay area	Federal jobs, 2025	Share, %	Change from 2024
Chicago, IL	55,061	69.6	−1,754
Rest of U.S.	11,677	14.8	−337
St. Louis, MO	6,926	8.8	+52
Davenport, IA	5,476	6.9	−83
No county reported	612	—	—

Every grade at step 5 in Illinois

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	Chicago-Naperville	St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington	Davenport-Moline	Rest of U.S.
GS-1	33,486	30,714	30,433	29,954
GS-2	36,455	33,438	33,132	32,611
GS-3	41,095	37,694	37,349	36,762
GS-4	46,129	42,312	41,924	41,265
GS-5	51,610	47,339	46,905	46,167
GS-6	57,530	52,769	52,285	51,463
GS-7	63,930	58,639	58,102	57,188
GS-8	70,798	64,939	64,344	63,332
GS-9	78,201	71,729	71,071	69,954
GS-10	86,111	78,985	78,261	77,030
GS-11	94,616	86,785	85,990	84,638
GS-12	113,402	104,017	103,064	101,443
GS-13	134,850	123,690	122,556	120,629
GS-14	159,353	146,165	144,826	142,549
GS-15	187,439	171,926	170,351	167,672

What a move inside Illinois is worth after prices

A transfer at GS-12 step 5 between areas of Illinois: 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
St. Louis, MO to Chicago, IL	+$9,385	+$76	1%
Davenport, IA to Chicago, IL	+$10,338	−$6,233	none
Davenport, IA to St. Louis, MO	+$953	−$6,309	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
Chicago, IL	18	Indiana, Wisconsin
St. Louis, MO	14	Missouri
Davenport, IA	6	Iowa