Atlanta locality pay 2026: GS pay table
64 counties, from the Blue Ridge to Columbus and into east Alabama, share a 23.79 % rate. Check your county below.
GS-12 step 1, Atlanta, 2026
$94,654
Base $76,463 plus 23.79 % locality pay.
| Base pay (GS table) | $76,463 |
| Locality payment, Atlanta | $18,191 |
| Hourly rate | $45.35 |
| Biweekly paycheck (gross, 80 hours) | $3,628.00 |
| Same cell in 2025 | $93,716 (+$938) |
| Next step (52 weeks in step) | +$3,155 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · OPM table ATL and the 2026 locality definitions
The Atlanta locality pay area, officially Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL, pays 23.79 % above the General Schedule base table in 2026, frozen at its 2025 level. It is 20th of the 58 areas, lower than the large coastal areas but 6.73 points above Rest of U.S. On the 2026 Atlanta table, step 1 pays $43,078 at GS-5, $53,361 at GS-7, $65,271 at GS-9, $78,972 at GS-11, $94,654 at GS-12, $112,556 at GS-13 and $133,007 at GS-14. No other area lists as many counties: 58 Georgia counties, including Athens (Clarke), Rome (Floyd), Gainesville (Hall), LaGrange (Troup) and Columbus (Muscogee), plus 6 Alabama counties along the state line, among them Lee and Russell. With a lower percentage, only 2 GS-15 steps reach the $197,200 cap. Savannah and Augusta are not in the area; they are paid the Rest of U.S. rate, $5,146 less for a GS-12 step 1.
Georgia has one named area, and it is not the whole state
Every Georgia county that appears in the 2026 definitions belongs to Atlanta. The other Georgia counties, including Chatham (Savannah), Richmond and Columbia (Augusta), Bibb (Macon) and Houston County near Warner Robins, are Rest of U.S. at 17.06 %. For employees used to thinking of "Atlanta" as the metro core, the reach of the list is the surprise: it stretches north to Rabun, Habersham, White and Gilmer in the mountains, east to Elbert, Oglethorpe and Taliaferro, and southwest to Muscogee, Chattahoochee, Stewart and Marion.
Is your Georgia or Alabama county in the Atlanta area?
Your locality pay area
Atlanta
| GS-9 step 1 here | $65,271 |
| GS-9 step 1, Rest of U.S. | $61,722 |
| Difference per year | +$3,549 |
The Alabama strip
Six Alabama counties are listed with Atlanta: Chambers County, Cherokee County, Cleburne County, Lee County, Randolph County, Russell County. Phenix City (Russell County) is paid like Columbus across the river, and Auburn and Opelika (Lee County) are on the Atlanta table as well. Farther west, the Alabama areas take over: Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega at 18.24 % and Huntsville at 21.91 %. Cherokee County is a special case: there is one in Alabama and one in Georgia, and both are in Atlanta.
Savannah versus Atlanta, in dollars
| Grade, step 1 | Atlanta area | Rest of U.S. (Savannah, Augusta, Macon) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| GS-5 | $43,078 | $40,736 | +$2,342 |
| GS-7 | $53,361 | $50,460 | +$2,901 |
| GS-9 | $65,271 | $61,722 | +$3,549 |
| GS-11 | $78,972 | $74,678 | +$4,294 |
| GS-12 | $94,654 | $89,508 | +$5,146 |
| GS-13 | $112,556 | $106,437 | +$6,119 |
The gap grows with the grade because the locality payment is a percentage of base pay. A transfer from Atlanta to Savannah at the same grade lowers pay by these amounts; the reverse transfer raises it.
Teleworking from outside the area
Under 5 CFR 531.605, an Atlanta office remains the official worksite for someone scheduled to report there at least twice each biweekly pay period. That holds even for a home in Macon or Augusta. If the agency approves full remote work instead, the home becomes the worksite and the Rest of U.S. table applies to a home in those counties.
Fewer capped cells
At 23.79 %, the Atlanta table reaches the $197,200 cap only at GS-15 step 9; 2 steps are capped in total, against more in higher areas such as Houston. GS-14 step 10 pays $172,915 and GS-15 step 1 pays $156,451. The GS-15 page shows each step.
2026 GS pay table for Atlanta
| 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 | $36,464 | $37,388 | $38,312 | $39,236 | $40,160 | $41,084 | $42,008 | $42,932 | $43,856 | $44,780 |
| GS-4 | $38,502 | $39,786 | $41,070 | $42,354 | $43,637 | $44,921 | $46,205 | $47,488 | $48,772 | $50,056 |
| GS-5 | $43,078 | $44,514 | $45,950 | $47,386 | $48,822 | $50,258 | $51,693 | $53,129 | $54,565 | $56,001 |
| GS-6 | $48,019 | $49,620 | $51,221 | $52,821 | $54,422 | $56,022 | $57,623 | $59,224 | $60,824 | $62,425 |
| GS-7 | $53,361 | $55,140 | $56,919 | $58,698 | $60,476 | $62,255 | $64,034 | $65,813 | $67,592 | $69,371 |
| GS-8 | $59,095 | $61,064 | $63,034 | $65,003 | $66,973 | $68,942 | $70,912 | $72,881 | $74,851 | $76,820 |
| GS-9 | $65,271 | $67,447 | $69,623 | $71,799 | $73,976 | $76,152 | $78,328 | $80,504 | $82,681 | $84,857 |
| GS-10 | $71,877 | $74,273 | $76,668 | $79,063 | $81,459 | $83,854 | $86,249 | $88,645 | $91,040 | $93,435 |
| GS-11 | $78,972 | $81,605 | $84,238 | $86,871 | $89,504 | $92,137 | $94,770 | $97,403 | $100,036 | $102,669 |
| GS-12 | $94,654 | $97,809 | $100,964 | $104,120 | $107,275 | $110,431 | $113,586 | $116,741 | $119,897 | $123,052 |
| GS-13 | $112,556 | $116,308 | $120,060 | $123,812 | $127,564 | $131,316 | $135,069 | $138,821 | $142,573 | $146,325 |
| GS-14 | $133,007 | $137,442 | $141,876 | $146,310 | $150,744 | $155,178 | $159,612 | $164,047 | $168,481 | $172,915 |
| GS-15 | $156,451 | $161,666 | $166,881 | $172,097 | $177,312 | $182,527 | $187,742 | $192,958 | $197,200 | $197,200 |
Counties and cities in this area
Alabama: Chambers County, Cherokee County, Cleburne County, Lee County, Randolph County, Russell County.
Georgia: Banks County, Barrow County, Bartow County, Butts County, Carroll County, Chattahoochee County, Cherokee County, Clarke County, Clayton County, Cobb County, Coweta County, Dawson County, DeKalb County, Douglas County, Elbert County, Fayette County, Floyd County, Forsyth County, Franklin County, Fulton County, Gilmer County, Gordon County, Greene County, Gwinnett County, Habersham County, Hall County, Haralson County, Harris County, Heard County, Henry County, Jackson County, Jasper County, Lamar County, Lumpkin County, Madison County, Marion County, Meriwether County, Morgan County, Muscogee County, Newton County, Oconee County, Oglethorpe County, Paulding County, Pickens County, Pike County, Polk County, Putnam County, Rabun County, Rockdale County, Spalding County, Stephens County, Stewart County, Talbot County, Taliaferro County, Troup County, Upson County, Walton County, White County.