58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-07

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

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 in Texas is paid $101,443 to $116,990, 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

$15,547

Goes furthest

$121,175At U.S. prices, in Laredo, TX.

Against Rest of U.S.

+$15,547over $101,443

Which areas cover Texas, and what each pays

GS-12 step 5 in 2026 in each area that covers Texas, what it buys at national average prices (BEA price level, U.S. = 100) and how many of the state’s 254 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-HOU (Houston, TX), Salary Table 2026-DFW (Dallas, TX), Salary Table 2026-LR (Laredo, TX), Salary Table 2026-AU (Austin, TX), Salary Table 2026-SO (San Antonio, TX), Salary Table 2026-CC (Corpus Christi, TX), Salary Table 2026-RUS (Rest of U.S.).
Locality pay area	Locality pay	On paper	Price level	What it buys	Counties here
Houston-The Woodlands, TX	35.00%	$116,990	98.6	$118,616	19
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK	27.26%	$110,282	103.1	$106,976	26
Laredo, TX	21.59%	$105,369	87.0	$121,175	3
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX	20.35%	$104,294	98.1	$106,351	9
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX	18.78%	$102,934	94.7	$108,676	14
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX	17.63%	$101,937	92.7	$109,999	10
Rest of U.S.	17.06%	$101,443	—	—	173

The $15,547 between its best- and lowest-paid areas is the fourth-widest spread inside any of the 38 states with more than one area.

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

Houston-The Woodlands, TX pays $116,990, the most in Texas, but Laredo, TX pays $105,369 and leaves you $2,559 better off once local prices are counted.

Its best-paid area, Houston-The Woodlands, TX, pays the fourth-most of the 58 areas at GS-12 step 5.

Its lowest-paid named area, Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX, pays the third-least of the 58 areas at GS-12 step 5, Rest of U.S. included.

Price levels across its areas run from 87.0 in Laredo, TX to 103.1 in Dallas, TX, the third-widest range of the 24 states with two or more priced areas.

Counties of Texas 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
Houston, TX	Austin County, Brazoria County, Chambers County, Colorado County, Fort Bend County, Galveston County, Grimes County, Harris County, Jackson County, Liberty County, Madison County, Matagorda County, Montgomery County, San Jacinto County, Trinity County, Walker County, Waller County, Washington County, Wharton County
Dallas, TX	Collin County, Cooke County, Dallas County, Delta County, Denton County, Ellis County, Fannin County, Grayson County, Henderson County, Hill County, Hood County, Hopkins County, Hunt County, Jack County, Johnson County, Kaufman County, Montague County, Navarro County, Palo Pinto County, Parker County, Rains County, Rockwall County, Somervell County, Tarrant County, Van Zandt County, Wise County
Laredo, TX	Jim Hogg County, La Salle County, Webb County
Austin, TX	Bastrop County, Blanco County, Burnet County, Caldwell County, Hays County, Lee County, Milam County, Travis County, Williamson County
San Antonio, TX	Atascosa County, Bandera County, Bexar County, Comal County, Frio County, Gillespie County, Gonzales County, Guadalupe County, Karnes County, Kendall County, Kerr County, McMullen County, Medina County, Wilson County
Corpus Christi, TX	Aransas County, Brooks County, Duval County, Jim Wells County, Kenedy County, Kleberg County, Live Oak County, Nueces County, Refugio County, San Patricio County
Rest of U.S.	all other counties of Texas (173)

Federal jobs in Texas, area by area

222,523 federal civilian jobs in Texas in 2025, 1.58% of all jobs in the state, 2,018 fewer than in 2024, down 0.90%, by the locality pay area of the worksite county; every federal pay system counted. The share is of the 209,465 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 2 jobs, from rounding of annual averages. Sources and caveats.
Locality pay area	Federal jobs, 2025	Share, %	Change from 2024
Rest of U.S.	61,198	29.2	−911
Dallas, TX	50,192	24.0	−170
San Antonio, TX	38,799	18.5	−467
Houston, TX	34,222	16.3	−234
Austin, TX	14,076	6.7	−337
Corpus Christi, TX	6,538	3.1	−153
Laredo, TX	4,440	2.1	+92
No county reported	13,060	—	—

Its 222,523 federal civilian jobs are the second-most of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Every grade at step 5 in Texas

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	Houston-The Woodlands	Dallas-Fort Worth	Laredo	Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown	San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall	Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice
GS-1	34,545	32,565	31,114	30,796	30,395	30,100
GS-2	37,608	35,452	33,873	33,527	33,090	32,769
GS-3	42,395	39,965	38,184	37,795	37,302	36,941
GS-4	47,589	44,860	42,862	42,425	41,871	41,466
GS-5	53,243	50,190	47,954	47,465	46,846	46,392
GS-6	59,350	55,947	53,455	52,909	52,219	51,714
GS-7	65,953	62,172	59,402	58,796	58,029	57,467
GS-8	73,038	68,850	65,783	65,112	64,262	63,640
GS-9	80,675	76,049	72,661	71,920	70,982	70,295
GS-10	88,835	83,742	80,011	79,195	78,162	77,405
GS-11	97,609	92,013	87,913	87,017	85,882	85,050
GS-12	116,990	110,282	105,369	104,294	102,934	101,937
GS-13	139,116	131,140	125,297	124,019	122,402	121,217
GS-14	164,395	154,970	148,065	146,555	144,643	143,243
GS-15	193,369	182,282	174,161	172,385	170,136	168,489

What a move inside Texas is worth after prices

A transfer at GS-12 step 5 between areas of Texas: 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
San Antonio, TX to Houston, TX	+$14,056	+$9,940	71%
Corpus Christi, TX to Houston, TX	+$15,053	+$8,617	57%
San Antonio, TX to Dallas, TX	+$7,348	−$1,700	none
Corpus Christi, TX to Dallas, TX	+$8,345	−$3,022	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
Houston, TX	19	nowhere else
Dallas, TX	26	Oklahoma
Laredo, TX	3	nowhere else
Austin, TX	9	nowhere else
San Antonio, TX	14	nowhere else
Corpus Christi, TX	10	nowhere else