Colorado Springs locality pay 2026: GS pay table
El Paso, Fremont, Pueblo and Teller counties share a 20.15 % locality in 2026. Denver, to the north, is paid far more.
GS-12 step 1, Colorado Springs, 2026
$91,870
Base $76,463 plus 20.15 % locality pay.
| Base pay (GS table) | $76,463 |
| Locality payment, Colorado Springs | $15,407 |
| Hourly rate | $44.02 |
| Biweekly paycheck (gross, 80 hours) | $3,521.60 |
| Same cell in 2025 | $90,961 (+$909) |
| Next step (52 weeks in step) | +$3,063 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · OPM table CS and the 2026 locality definitions
The Colorado Springs locality pay area pays 20.15 % above the General Schedule base table in 2026, unchanged from 2025: Executive Order 14368 raised the base rates by 1 % and kept every locality percentage where it was. It covers 4 Colorado counties, El Paso County, Fremont County, Pueblo County and Teller County, and ranks 36th of the 58 areas. A GS-7 step 1 earns $51,792, a GS-9 $63,351, a GS-11 $76,650, a GS-12 $91,870, a GS-13 $109,246 and a GS-14 $129,096. The defining fact of this area is its neighbor: the Denver-Aurora area, which starts at the next county line to the north, pays 30.52 %. At GS-12 step 1 the gap is $7,930 a year, and at GS-13 step 5 it is $10,687. Colorado counties outside both areas are Rest of U.S., at 17.06 %.
Two Front Range tables
Colorado has 18 counties named in OPM's 2026 locality definitions. 14 of them form the Denver area and 4 form Colorado Springs. Douglas and Elbert counties, on the northern edge of El Paso County, are in the Denver list, so the boundary between a 30.52 % table and a 20.15 % table runs between neighboring counties of the same metro corridor.
The percentages differ because each area's figure comes from its own survey of non-federal salaries, compared with federal pay for the same kinds of work. The surveys show a much larger gap in the Denver labor market than in the Colorado Springs one. Living costs do not enter the calculation.
Compare a Front Range county
Your locality pay area
Denver
| GS-12 step 1 here | $99,800 |
| GS-12 step 1, Rest of U.S. | $89,508 |
| Difference per year | +$10,292 |
What the gap means for a career
A defense civilian offered the same grade in both areas faces a real choice. At GS-11 step 1 Denver pays $6,615 more; at GS-14 step 1 the difference is $11,143. Over a career the gap reaches the pension too, because the FERS high-3 is an average of basic pay including locality. Three final years in the Denver table instead of the Colorado Springs one raise the high-3 by roughly the same proportion, 8.6 %.
Commuting does not move your rate
Living in Castle Rock and driving south to a duty station in El Paso County means a Colorado Springs paycheck, and living in Colorado Springs while reporting to a Denver office means a Denver one. The official worksite on the SF-50 decides. For teleworkers, 5 CFR 531.605 keeps the office as worksite when you are scheduled to report there at least twice each biweekly pay period; below that, your home becomes the worksite and its county sets the table.
South and west of the area
Pueblo County to the south and Fremont County to the southwest are inside the Colorado Springs area, so Pueblo and Cañon City worksites use this table. Counties beyond them, and most of western Colorado, are in Rest of U.S.. A GS-9 step 5 is paid $1,846 more in Colorado Springs than in a Rest of U.S. county. At the top, 1 GS-15 step is held at the $197,200 cap. The Denver page has the northern table.
2026 GS pay table for Colorado Springs
| 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 | $37,370 | $38,616 | $39,862 | $41,108 | $42,354 | $43,600 | $44,846 | $46,092 | $47,338 | $48,584 |
| GS-5 | $41,811 | $43,205 | $44,598 | $45,992 | $47,386 | $48,780 | $50,173 | $51,567 | $52,961 | $54,355 |
| GS-6 | $46,607 | $48,161 | $49,714 | $51,268 | $52,822 | $54,375 | $55,929 | $57,482 | $59,036 | $60,589 |
| GS-7 | $51,792 | $53,518 | $55,245 | $56,972 | $58,698 | $60,425 | $62,151 | $63,878 | $65,604 | $67,331 |
| GS-8 | $57,357 | $59,269 | $61,180 | $63,092 | $65,004 | $66,915 | $68,827 | $70,738 | $72,650 | $74,561 |
| GS-9 | $63,351 | $65,464 | $67,576 | $69,688 | $71,800 | $73,913 | $76,025 | $78,137 | $80,249 | $82,362 |
| GS-10 | $69,764 | $72,089 | $74,414 | $76,739 | $79,064 | $81,388 | $83,713 | $86,038 | $88,363 | $90,688 |
| GS-11 | $76,650 | $79,205 | $81,761 | $84,316 | $86,872 | $89,428 | $91,983 | $94,539 | $97,094 | $99,650 |
| GS-12 | $91,870 | $94,933 | $97,996 | $101,058 | $104,121 | $107,183 | $110,246 | $113,309 | $116,371 | $119,434 |
| GS-13 | $109,246 | $112,888 | $116,530 | $120,172 | $123,813 | $127,455 | $131,097 | $134,739 | $138,380 | $142,022 |
| GS-14 | $129,096 | $133,400 | $137,704 | $142,008 | $146,311 | $150,615 | $154,919 | $159,223 | $163,527 | $167,830 |
| GS-15 | $151,850 | $156,912 | $161,974 | $167,036 | $172,098 | $177,160 | $182,222 | $187,284 | $192,346 | $197,200 |
Counties and cities in this area
Colorado: El Paso County, Fremont County, Pueblo County, Teller County.