58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

New Jersey GS pay scale 2026: the 2 locality pay areas in the state

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 in New Jersey is paid $111,781 to $119,546, depending on which of its 2 locality pay areas the duty station is in.

Spread at GS-12 step 5

$7,765

Goes furthest

$108,997At U.S. prices, in Philadelphia, PA.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$18,103over $101,443

Which areas cover New Jersey, and what each pays

GS-12 step 5 in 2026 in each area that covers New Jersey, what it buys at national average prices (BEA price level, U.S. = 100) and how many of the state’s 21 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-NY (New York, NY), Salary Table 2026-PHL (Philadelphia, PA).
Locality pay area	Locality pay	On paper	Price level	What it buys	Counties here
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA	37.95%	$119,546	112.6	$106,204	14
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD	28.99%	$111,781	102.6	$108,997	7

New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA pays $119,546, the most in New Jersey, but Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD pays $111,781 and leaves you $2,794 better off once local prices are counted.

Every one of its 21 counties is in a named area, so no duty station in New Jersey is on the Rest of U.S. rate.

Its best-paid area, New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA, pays the second-most of the 58 areas at GS-12 step 5.

Counties of New Jersey 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
New York, NY	Bergen County, Essex County, Hudson County, Hunterdon County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Morris County, Ocean County, Passaic County, Somerset County, Sussex County, Union County, Warren County; and Fort Dix, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, McGuire Air Force Base
Philadelphia, PA	Atlantic County, Burlington County, Camden County, Cape May County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Salem County

Federal jobs in New Jersey, area by area

48,611 federal civilian jobs in New Jersey in 2025, 1.14% of all jobs in the state, 1,440 fewer than in 2024, down 2.88%, by the locality pay area of the worksite county; every federal pay system counted. The share is of the 46,594 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
New York, NY	35,517	76.2	−1,116
Philadelphia, PA	11,077	23.8	−313
No county reported	2,018	—	—

Federal jobs of every pay system are 1.14% of all jobs in New Jersey, the fourth-lowest share of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Every grade at step 5 in New Jersey

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	New York-Newark	Philadelphia-Reading-Camden
GS-1	35,300	33,007
GS-2	38,430	35,934
GS-3	43,322	40,508
GS-4	48,629	45,470
GS-5	54,406	50,872
GS-6	60,647	56,708
GS-7	67,394	63,017
GS-8	74,634	69,786
GS-9	82,438	77,083
GS-10	90,777	84,881
GS-11	99,742	93,264
GS-12	119,546	111,781
GS-13	142,156	132,923
GS-14	167,987	157,076
GS-15	197,200	184,760

What a move inside New Jersey is worth after prices

A transfer at GS-12 step 5 between areas of New Jersey: 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
Philadelphia, PA to New York, NY	+$7,765	−$2,794	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
New York, NY	14	Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA	7	Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania