58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

Pennsylvania GS pay scale 2026: the 7 locality pay areas in the state

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 in Pennsylvania is paid $101,443 to $119,546, depending on which of its 7 locality pay areas, Rest of U.S. included, the duty station is in.

Spread at GS-12 step 5

$18,103

Goes furthest

$112,776At U.S. prices, in Cleveland, OH.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$18,103over $101,443

Which areas cover Pennsylvania, and what each pays

GS-12 step 5 in 2026 in each area that covers Pennsylvania, what it buys at national average prices (BEA price level, U.S. = 100) and how many of the state’s 67 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-DCB (Washington, DC), Salary Table 2026-PHL (Philadelphia, PA), Salary Table 2026-CLE (Cleveland, OH), Salary Table 2026-PIT (Pittsburgh, PA), Salary Table 2026-HB (Harrisburg, PA), Salary Table 2026-RUS (Rest of U.S.).
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	6
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA	33.94%	$116,071	108.9	$106,601	4
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD	28.99%	$111,781	102.6	$108,997	7
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA	22.23%	$105,923	93.9	$112,776	1
Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV	21.03%	$104,883	94.7	$110,787	12
Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA	19.43%	$103,497	98.7	$104,913	6
Rest of U.S.	17.06%	$101,443	—	—	31

The $18,103 between its best- and lowest-paid areas is the second-widest spread inside any of the 38 states with more than one area, shared with New York.

Pennsylvania is split among seven locality pay areas, Rest of U.S. included, the most of any state, as many as Texas.

New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA pays $119,546, the most in Pennsylvania, but Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA pays $105,923 and leaves you $6,573 better off once local prices are counted, the second-largest such gap of the 17 states where the best-paid area is not the one that goes furthest.

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

Price levels across its areas run from 93.9 in Cleveland, OH to 112.6 in New York, NY, the widest range of the 24 states with two or more priced areas.

Counties of Pennsylvania 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	Carbon County, Lehigh County, Monroe County, Northampton County, Pike County, Wayne County
Washington, DC	Adams County, Franklin County, Fulton County, York County
Philadelphia, PA	Berks County, Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Philadelphia County, Schuylkill County
Cleveland, OH	Mercer County
Pittsburgh, PA	Allegheny County, Armstrong County, Beaver County, Butler County, Cambria County, Fayette County, Greene County, Indiana County, Lawrence County, Somerset County, Washington County, Westmoreland County
Harrisburg, PA	Cumberland County, Dauphin County, Juniata County, Lancaster County, Lebanon County, Perry County
Rest of U.S.	all other counties of Pennsylvania (31)

Federal jobs in Pennsylvania, area by area

100,986 federal civilian jobs in Pennsylvania in 2025, 1.67% of all jobs in the state, 2,723 fewer than in 2024, down 2.63%, by the locality pay area of the worksite county; every federal pay system counted. The share is of the 97,107 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 4 jobs, from rounding of annual averages. Sources and caveats.
Locality pay area	Federal jobs, 2025	Share, %	Change from 2024
Philadelphia, PA	39,510	40.7	−1,011
Pittsburgh, PA	20,284	20.9	−575
Rest of U.S.	12,188	12.6	−531
Harrisburg, PA	11,953	12.3	−355
Washington, DC	7,223	7.4	−23
New York, NY	5,725	5.9	−225
Cleveland, OH	224	0.2	−14
No county reported	3,883	—	—

Every grade at step 5 in Pennsylvania

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	Washington-Baltimore-Arlington	Philadelphia-Reading-Camden	Cleveland-Akron-Canton	Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton	Harrisburg-Lebanon
GS-1	35,300	34,274	33,007	31,277	30,970	30,561
GS-2	38,430	37,313	35,934	34,051	33,717	33,271
GS-3	43,322	42,063	40,508	38,385	38,008	37,506
GS-4	48,629	47,215	45,470	43,087	42,664	42,100
GS-5	54,406	52,825	50,872	48,206	47,733	47,102
GS-6	60,647	58,884	56,708	53,736	53,208	52,505
GS-7	67,394	65,435	63,017	59,714	59,128	58,346
GS-8	74,634	72,464	69,786	66,129	65,480	64,614
GS-9	82,438	80,041	77,083	73,043	72,326	71,370
GS-10	90,777	88,138	84,881	80,432	79,643	78,590
GS-11	99,742	96,843	93,264	88,376	87,508	86,351
GS-12	119,546	116,071	111,781	105,923	104,883	103,497
GS-13	142,156	138,024	132,923	125,957	124,720	123,071
GS-14	167,987	163,104	157,076	148,844	147,383	145,435
GS-15	197,200	191,850	184,760	175,077	173,359	171,067

What a move inside Pennsylvania is worth after prices

A transfer at GS-12 step 5 between areas of Pennsylvania: 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
Pittsburgh, PA to New York, NY	+$14,663	−$4,583	none
Harrisburg, PA to New York, NY	+$16,049	+$1,290	8%
Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, DC	+$11,188	−$4,186	none
Harrisburg, PA to Washington, DC	+$12,574	+$1,687	13%

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	6	Connecticut, New Jersey, New York
Washington, DC	4	District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia
Philadelphia, PA	7	Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey
Cleveland, OH	1	Ohio
Pittsburgh, PA	12	Ohio, West Virginia
Harrisburg, PA	6	nowhere else