Huntsville locality pay 2026: GS pay table
North Alabama's federal workforce is paid 21.91 % above the base table in 2026, more than Birmingham or rural Alabama.
GS-12 step 1, Huntsville, 2026
$93,216
Base $76,463 plus 21.91 % locality pay.
| Base pay (GS table) | $76,463 |
| Locality payment, Huntsville | $16,753 |
| Hourly rate | $44.67 |
| Biweekly paycheck (gross, 80 hours) | $3,573.60 |
| Same cell in 2025 | $92,293 (+$923) |
| Next step (52 weeks in step) | +$3,108 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · OPM table HNT and the 2026 locality definitions
The Huntsville-Decatur locality pay area adds 21.91 % to the General Schedule base table in 2026, the same percentage as in 2025 because Executive Order 14368 froze every locality and put the 1 % raise into the base rates. It ranks 30th of the 58 areas and is one of the 3 named areas that include Alabama counties, between Atlanta at 23.79 % and Birmingham at 18.24 %. The area takes in 9 counties: Colbert County, DeKalb County, Lauderdale County, Lawrence County, Limestone County, Madison County, Marshall County and Morgan County in Alabama, plus Lincoln County in Tennessee. A GS-9 step 1 earns $64,279, a GS-11 $77,772, a GS-12 $93,216, a GS-13 $110,847, a GS-14 $130,987 and a GS-15 $154,075. Compared with Birmingham, at 18.24 %, the same GS-13 step 1 is paid $3,337 more a year.
A defense workforce at every grade
Huntsville and the Tennessee Valley around it hold a large defense workforce that spans the whole General Schedule. The upper half of this table, GS-12 to GS-15, is where the 21.91 % percentage produces the largest dollar differences with the rest of Alabama, and where promotions, rather than step increases, drive most of a career's growth.
Promotions in the Huntsville table
A GS promotion follows the two-step rule of 5 CFR 531.214: take your current base rate, add two step increments of your current grade, apply the locality percentage, then find the lowest step of the new grade that equals or exceeds it. In the Huntsville table, a GS-12 step 4 earning $102,539 moves to GS-13 step 1, $110,847, a raise of $8,308. A GS-13 step 3 moving to GS-14 lands at step 1, $130,987. In both cases the wait for the next within-grade increase starts again.
Your next promotion in the Huntsville table
Promotion to GS-13
Step 1
| Now: GS-12 step 4 | $102,539 |
| Plus two step increases of your grade | $108,753 |
| New rate: GS-13 step 1 | $110,847 |
| Waiting period for the next step | starts again |
Three Alabama tables
Alabama counties are split among 3 named areas and Rest of U.S. Huntsville covers the north of the state. Birmingham, at 18.24 %, takes 19 counties in the center. Atlanta, at 23.79 %, reaches across the state line into 6 eastern Alabama counties. Every other Alabama county is in Rest of U.S. at 17.06 %. A GS-12 step 5 is worth $4,203 more a year in Huntsville than in a Rest of U.S. county a short drive away, so a job announcement's duty station deserves a careful look.
Lincoln County, Tennessee, belongs here as well. Area definitions follow commuting patterns, not state lines, so a worksite there uses the Huntsville table rather than a Tennessee rate.
Telework across county lines
Commuting into Madison County from a county outside the area does not change your locality: you are paid at your official worksite. Under 5 CFR 531.605 the office stays your worksite as long as you are scheduled to report there at least twice each biweekly pay period. Switch to full remote work from a home in a Rest of U.S. county and the locality follows the home.
The ceiling
1 GS-15 cell in this table reaches the $197,200 cap, so the very top step adds nothing until the cap rises. The promotion calculator and the GS-13 page cover the rest of the ladder.
2026 GS pay table for Huntsville
| 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 | $37,918 | $39,182 | $40,446 | $41,710 | $42,974 | $44,239 | $45,503 | $46,767 | $48,031 | $49,296 |
| GS-5 | $42,423 | $43,838 | $45,252 | $46,666 | $48,080 | $49,494 | $50,908 | $52,323 | $53,737 | $55,151 |
| GS-6 | $47,290 | $48,866 | $50,443 | $52,019 | $53,595 | $55,172 | $56,748 | $58,324 | $59,900 | $61,477 |
| GS-7 | $52,551 | $54,302 | $56,054 | $57,806 | $59,558 | $61,310 | $63,062 | $64,813 | $66,565 | $68,317 |
| GS-8 | $58,197 | $60,137 | $62,077 | $64,016 | $65,956 | $67,895 | $69,835 | $71,775 | $73,714 | $75,654 |
| GS-9 | $64,279 | $66,423 | $68,566 | $70,709 | $72,852 | $74,995 | $77,139 | $79,282 | $81,425 | $83,568 |
| GS-10 | $70,786 | $73,145 | $75,504 | $77,863 | $80,222 | $82,581 | $84,940 | $87,299 | $89,657 | $92,016 |
| GS-11 | $77,772 | $80,366 | $82,959 | $85,552 | $88,145 | $90,738 | $93,331 | $95,924 | $98,517 | $101,110 |
| GS-12 | $93,216 | $96,324 | $99,431 | $102,539 | $105,646 | $108,753 | $111,861 | $114,968 | $118,076 | $121,183 |
| GS-13 | $110,847 | $114,542 | $118,237 | $121,932 | $125,627 | $129,322 | $133,017 | $136,712 | $140,407 | $144,102 |
| GS-14 | $130,987 | $135,354 | $139,721 | $144,088 | $148,455 | $152,821 | $157,188 | $161,555 | $165,922 | $170,289 |
| GS-15 | $154,075 | $159,211 | $164,347 | $169,483 | $174,619 | $179,755 | $184,891 | $190,027 | $195,163 | $197,200 |
Counties and cities in this area
Alabama: Colbert County, DeKalb County, Lauderdale County, Lawrence County, Limestone County, Madison County, Marshall County, Morgan County.
Tennessee: Lincoln County.