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. Massachusetts

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

Massachusetts GS pay scale 2026: the 3 locality pay areas in the state

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 in Massachusetts is paid $104,658 to $114,893, depending on which of its 3 locality pay areas the duty station is in.

Spread at GS-12 step 5

$10,235

Goes furthest

$111,400At U.S. prices, in Hartford, CT.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$13,450over $101,443

Which areas cover Massachusetts, and what each pays

GS-12 step 5 in 2026 in each area that covers Massachusetts, what it buys at national average prices (BEA price level, U.S. = 100) and how many of the state’s 14 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-HAR (Hartford, CT), Salary Table 2026-AL (Albany, NY).
Locality pay areaLocality payOn paperPrice levelWhat it buysCounties here
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT32.58%$114,893108.3$106,12110
Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA32.08%$114,459102.7$111,4003
Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA20.77%$104,65899.6$105,1141

Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT pays $114,893, the most in Massachusetts, but Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA pays $114,459 and leaves you $5,279 better off once local prices are counted, the fifth-largest such gap of the 17 states where the best-paid area is not the one that goes furthest.

Every one of its 14 counties is in a named area, so no duty station in Massachusetts is on the Rest of U.S. rate.

Counties of Massachusetts 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
Boston, MABarnstable County, Bristol County, Dukes County, Essex County, Middlesex County, Nantucket County, Norfolk County, Plymouth County, Suffolk County, Worcester County
Hartford, CTFranklin County, Hampden County, Hampshire County
Albany, NYBerkshire County

Federal jobs in Massachusetts, area by area

44,690 federal civilian jobs in Massachusetts in 2025, 1.23% of all jobs in the state, 1,569 fewer than in 2024, down 3.39%, by the locality pay area of the worksite county; every federal pay system counted. The share is of the 43,506 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
Boston, MA37,93087.2−1,375
Hartford, CT5,22412.0−183
Albany, NY3520.8+2
No county reported1,183——

Every grade at step 5 in Massachusetts

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.
GradeBoston-Worcester-ProvidenceHartford-East HartfordAlbany-Schenectady
GS-133,92633,79830,904
GS-236,93436,79533,644
GS-341,63541,47837,927
GS-446,73646,56042,573
GS-552,28852,09147,630
GS-658,28658,06653,094
GS-764,77164,52659,001
GS-871,72871,45865,339
GS-979,22878,93072,171
GS-1087,24386,91479,471
GS-1195,85995,49887,320
GS-12114,893114,459104,658
GS-13136,622136,107124,452
GS-14161,448160,839147,066
GS-15189,902189,186172,986

What a move inside Massachusetts is worth after prices

A transfer at GS-12 step 5 between areas of Massachusetts: 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
Hartford, CT to Boston, MA+$434−$5,279none
Albany, NY to Boston, MA+$10,235+$1,00710%
Albany, NY to Hartford, CT+$9,801+$6,28664%

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
Boston, MA10Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Hartford, CT3Connecticut
Albany, NY1New York