Chicago locality pay 2026: GS pay table
Cook County and 24 other counties across three states share a 30.86 % locality rate. Choose your county to confirm.
GS-12 step 1, Chicago, 2026
$100,059
Base $76,463 plus 30.86 % locality pay.
| Base pay (GS table) | $76,463 |
| Locality payment, Chicago | $23,596 |
| Hourly rate | $47.94 |
| Biweekly paycheck (gross, 80 hours) | $3,835.20 |
| Same cell in 2025 | $99,069 (+$990) |
| Next step (52 weeks in step) | +$3,336 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · OPM table CHI and the 2026 locality definitions
For 2026, the Chicago-Naperville locality pay area adds 30.86 % to General Schedule base rates, the same figure as in 2025, since the January raise of 1 % went entirely to the base table. That places Chicago 11th of 58 areas, with 47 areas below it. Annual pay at step 1 is $45,538 for GS-5, $56,409 for GS-7, $68,999 for GS-9, $83,482 for GS-11, $100,059 for GS-12 and $118,984 for GS-13; by the hour, a GS-12 step 1 earns $47.94. The area lists 25 counties: 18 in Illinois, from Cook and DuPage out to Winnebago, LaSalle and Kankakee, 6 in northwest Indiana, and Kenosha County in Wisconsin. GS-15 reaches the $197,200 cap at step 7, which leaves 4 steps capped. Milwaukee, to the north, is a separate area at 22.42 %, $6,453 lower for a GS-12 step 1.
Kenosha yes, Racine no
The Wisconsin line is the one people get wrong. Kenosha County is the only Wisconsin county in the Chicago area. Racine County, directly to its north, is part of Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, along with Milwaukee, Waukesha, Walworth and six others. Two worksites a few miles apart can therefore sit on tables 8.44 points apart: a GS-11 step 5 earns $94,616 in Kenosha and $88,513 in Racine.
Check a county near the Wisconsin or Indiana line
Your locality pay area
Chicago
| GS-11 step 1 here | $83,482 |
| GS-11 step 1, Rest of U.S. | $74,678 |
| Difference per year | +$8,804 |
How far into Illinois the area goes
Beyond the six collar counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will), the list runs west and south. Rockford's Winnebago County and neighboring Boone, Ogle and Stephenson are included. So are DeKalb, Kendall and Grundy, the Illinois River counties of LaSalle, Bureau and Putnam, and Kankakee and Iroquois to the south. Farther out, other areas take over: Rock Island, Henry and Whiteside go to Davenport-Moline at 18.93 %, and the Metro East counties go to St. Louis at 20.03 %. The rest of central and southern Illinois is Rest of U.S.
The Indiana side
Lake and Porter counties are the obvious ones. LaPorte, Jasper, Newton and Starke are included too. Note that Lake County appears twice in the definitions, once for Illinois and once for Indiana, and both are in the Chicago area. Indianapolis is its own area at 18.15 %, so a transfer from Gary to Indianapolis at GS-12 step 1 would lower pay by $9,718.
Hourly and overtime rates in Chicago
Hourly pay is the annual rate divided by 2,087 hours. A GS-7 step 1 earns $27.03 an hour and $40.55 for each overtime hour. Above GS-10 step 1, overtime for FLSA-exempt employees is capped at one and a half times the GS-10 step 1 hourly rate of the area, which is why a GS-13 step 1 at $57.01 an hour gets $57.01, not time and a half.
Hourly and overtime pay in the Chicago area
GS-7 step 1, hourly
$27.03
| Regular 80 hours | $2,162.40 |
| Overtime, 8 hours | $324.40 |
| Gross for the pay period | $2,486.80 |
| Overtime rule | time and a half |
Reporting to a downtown office from another area
The rate depends on the official worksite, under 5 CFR 531.605. If you are scheduled to report to a Chicago office at least twice per biweekly pay period, that office sets your pay, even if you live in Racine or in a Rest of U.S. county. A fully remote arrangement moves the worksite to the home. For a GS-13 step 1 the gap between Chicago and Rest of U.S. is $12,547. At the top, the 4 capped GS-15 steps are covered in the pay cap guide.
2026 GS pay table for Chicago
| 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 | $37,468 | $38,677 | $39,886 | $41,095 | $42,304 | $43,514 | $44,723 | $45,932 | $47,141 |
| GS-4 | $40,701 | $42,058 | $43,415 | $44,772 | $46,129 | $47,486 | $48,843 | $50,201 | $51,558 | $52,915 |
| GS-5 | $45,538 | $47,056 | $48,574 | $50,092 | $51,610 | $53,128 | $54,646 | $56,164 | $57,682 | $59,200 |
| GS-6 | $50,762 | $52,454 | $54,146 | $55,838 | $57,530 | $59,222 | $60,914 | $62,606 | $64,298 | $65,990 |
| GS-7 | $56,409 | $58,289 | $60,169 | $62,050 | $63,930 | $65,811 | $67,691 | $69,572 | $71,452 | $73,333 |
| GS-8 | $62,470 | $64,552 | $66,634 | $68,716 | $70,798 | $72,880 | $74,962 | $77,044 | $79,126 | $81,208 |
| GS-9 | $68,999 | $71,299 | $73,600 | $75,900 | $78,201 | $80,501 | $82,802 | $85,102 | $87,403 | $89,703 |
| GS-10 | $75,983 | $78,515 | $81,047 | $83,579 | $86,111 | $88,643 | $91,175 | $93,708 | $96,240 | $98,772 |
| GS-11 | $83,482 | $86,266 | $89,049 | $91,832 | $94,616 | $97,399 | $100,182 | $102,966 | $105,749 | $108,533 |
| GS-12 | $100,059 | $103,395 | $106,731 | $110,066 | $113,402 | $116,738 | $120,073 | $123,409 | $126,744 | $130,080 |
| GS-13 | $118,984 | $122,951 | $126,917 | $130,884 | $134,850 | $138,816 | $142,783 | $146,749 | $150,715 | $154,682 |
| GS-14 | $140,604 | $145,291 | $149,979 | $154,666 | $159,353 | $164,041 | $168,728 | $173,416 | $178,103 | $182,790 |
| GS-15 | $165,386 | $170,899 | $176,412 | $181,925 | $187,439 | $192,952 | $197,200 | $197,200 | $197,200 | $197,200 |
Counties and cities in this area
Illinois: Boone County, Bureau County, Cook County, DeKalb County, DuPage County, Grundy County, Iroquois County, Kane County, Kankakee County, Kendall County, LaSalle County, Lake County, McHenry County, Ogle County, Putnam County, Stephenson County, Will County, Winnebago County.
Indiana: Jasper County, LaPorte County, Lake County, Newton County, Porter County, Starke County.
Wisconsin: Kenosha County.