58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

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

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 in Maine is paid $114,893 in Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT and $101,443 in the rest of the state, which is on the Rest of U.S. rate.

Spread at GS-12 step 5

$13,450

Goes furthest

$106,121At U.S. prices, in Boston, MA.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$13,450over $101,443

Which areas cover Maine, and what each pays

GS-12 step 5 in 2026 in each area that covers Maine, what it buys at national average prices (BEA price level, U.S. = 100) and how many of the state’s 16 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-BOS (Boston, MA), Salary Table 2026-RUS (Rest of U.S.).
Locality pay area	Locality pay	On paper	Price level	What it buys	Counties here
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT	32.58%	$114,893	108.3	$106,121	4
Rest of U.S.	17.06%	$101,443	—	—	12

Counties of Maine 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
Boston, MA	Androscoggin County, Cumberland County, Sagadahoc County, York County
Rest of U.S.	all other counties of Maine (12)

Federal jobs in Maine, area by area

17,230 federal civilian jobs in Maine in 2025, 2.65% of all jobs in the state, 85 fewer than in 2024, down 0.49%, by the locality pay area of the worksite county; every federal pay system counted. The share is of the 16,311 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
Boston, MA	10,484	64.3	+77
Rest of U.S.	5,827	35.7	−247
No county reported	920	—	—

Every grade at step 5 in Maine

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	Boston-Worcester-Providence	Rest of U.S.
GS-1	33,926	29,954
GS-2	36,934	32,611
GS-3	41,635	36,762
GS-4	46,736	41,265
GS-5	52,288	46,167
GS-6	58,286	51,463
GS-7	64,771	57,188
GS-8	71,728	63,332
GS-9	79,228	69,954
GS-10	87,243	77,030
GS-11	95,859	84,638
GS-12	114,893	101,443
GS-13	136,622	120,629
GS-14	161,448	142,549
GS-15	189,902	167,672

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).
Area	Counties here	Also covers
Boston, MA	4	Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont