Alaska locality pay 2026: GS pay table
One percentage for the entire state, from Anchorage to the North Slope: 32.36 % on top of the GS base table.
GS-12 step 1, Alaska, 2026
$101,206
Base $76,463 plus 32.36 % locality pay.
| Base pay (GS table) | $76,463 |
| Locality payment, Alaska | $24,743 |
| Hourly rate | $48.49 |
| Biweekly paycheck (gross, 80 hours) | $3,879.20 |
| Same cell in 2025 | $100,204 (+$1,002) |
| Next step (52 weeks in step) | +$3,374 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · OPM table AK and the 2026 locality definitions
Alaska is a single locality pay area: every federal worksite in the state, in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau or a remote village, uses the same 2026 table at 32.36 % above the base rates. That percentage did not change from 2025, because Executive Order 14368 raised the base table by 1 % and froze every locality. It ranks 8th of the 58 areas, between Boston and Hartford. A GS-5 step 1 earns $46,060, a GS-7 $57,055, a GS-9 $69,789, a GS-11 $84,439, a GS-12 $101,206, a GS-13 $120,348 and a GS-14 $142,216. GS-15 reaches the $197,200 cap from step 7, so 4 steps show the same figure. Locality pay came to Alaska through the Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act of 2009; the old nonforeign cost-of-living allowance was phased out.
No county lookup needed
Most locality areas are lists of counties, and a worksite one county over can fall into another table. Alaska works differently. OPM's 2026 definitions name the State of Alaska as one area, so the borough or census area of your duty station does not matter. A ranger in a national park, a nurse at a federal clinic in Bethel and an analyst in a downtown Anchorage office at the same grade and step are paid the same rate. The calculator at the top of the page shows that: choose Alaska as the state and the only option is anywhere in the state.
From allowance to locality pay
Alaska was not always a locality pay area. The Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act of 2009 phased in locality pay for the nonforeign areas of 5 CFR 591.205, and the old allowance was phased out. Today the Alaska percentage is set the same way as in any other area, from surveys of non-federal pay, not from prices in the state. The practical difference for a career employee is that locality pay is part of basic pay, which is what the FERS high-3 averages; the high-3 page explains that average.
How Alaska compares
At 32.36 %, Alaska sits close to the large West Coast and Northeast metros. Seattle, the nearest area on the map, pays 31.57 %, so a transfer from Juneau to a Seattle office at GS-12 step 5 changes pay by $685 a year. Compared with Rest of U.S. the gap is $13,259 at the same cell, and compared with Hawaii, the other state-wide area at 22.21 %, it is $8,796.
The cap at GS-15
A high percentage meets the ceiling sooner. In Alaska, GS-15 step 7 and every step above it are held at $197,200, the rate of Executive Schedule level IV. A GS-15 at step 6 still gets a raise from the next within-grade increase; one already at step 7 does not. Every grade from GS-1 to GS-14 is below the cap at all ten steps.
Is your GS-15 step capped in Alaska?
GS-15 step 7 in Alaska
$197,200
| Base rate | $151,662 |
| Uncapped locality rate | $200,740 |
| Pay cap (EX-IV) | $197,200 |
| Cells capped in this area | 4 |
Remote work from Alaska
The worksite rule of 5 CFR 531.605 applies here as everywhere. If you report to an agency office at least twice each biweekly pay period, that office is your worksite. If your home in Alaska is the approved worksite for a remote position, you are paid the Alaska rate even when the team sits in another state. The reverse holds too: an employee who moves out of Alaska to work remotely from a Rest of U.S. county drops to 17.06 %. The locality pay page has the full ranking.
2026 GS pay table for Alaska
| Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-1 | $35,048 | $35,772 | $36,496 | $37,220 | $37,944 | $38,668 | $39,392 | $40,116 | $40,840 | $41,564 |
| GS-2 | $35,749 | $36,568 | $37,387 | $38,206 | $39,025 | $39,844 | $40,663 | $41,482 | $42,301 | $43,120 |
| GS-3 | $36,674 | $37,897 | $39,120 | $40,343 | $41,566 | $42,789 | $44,012 | $45,235 | $46,458 | $47,681 |
| GS-4 | $41,168 | $42,541 | $43,913 | $45,286 | $46,658 | $48,031 | $49,403 | $50,776 | $52,149 | $53,521 |
| GS-5 | $46,060 | $47,595 | $49,131 | $50,666 | $52,201 | $53,737 | $55,272 | $56,808 | $58,343 | $59,878 |
| GS-6 | $51,344 | $53,055 | $54,767 | $56,478 | $58,189 | $59,901 | $61,612 | $63,324 | $65,035 | $66,747 |
| GS-7 | $57,055 | $58,957 | $60,859 | $62,761 | $64,663 | $66,565 | $68,467 | $70,369 | $72,271 | $74,173 |
| GS-8 | $63,186 | $65,292 | $67,398 | $69,504 | $71,609 | $73,715 | $75,821 | $77,927 | $80,033 | $82,139 |
| GS-9 | $69,789 | $72,116 | $74,443 | $76,770 | $79,097 | $81,424 | $83,751 | $86,078 | $88,405 | $90,731 |
| GS-10 | $76,854 | $79,415 | $81,976 | $84,537 | $87,098 | $89,659 | $92,221 | $94,782 | $97,343 | $99,904 |
| GS-11 | $84,439 | $87,254 | $90,070 | $92,885 | $95,700 | $98,516 | $101,331 | $104,146 | $106,961 | $109,777 |
| GS-12 | $101,206 | $104,580 | $107,954 | $111,328 | $114,702 | $118,076 | $121,450 | $124,823 | $128,197 | $131,571 |
| GS-13 | $120,348 | $124,360 | $128,372 | $132,384 | $136,396 | $140,407 | $144,419 | $148,431 | $152,443 | $156,455 |
| GS-14 | $142,216 | $146,957 | $151,698 | $156,439 | $161,180 | $165,921 | $170,662 | $175,403 | $180,145 | $184,886 |
| GS-15 | $167,282 | $172,858 | $178,435 | $184,011 | $189,587 | $195,163 | $197,200 | $197,200 | $197,200 | $197,200 |
Counties and cities in this area
Alaska: State of Alaska.