Virginia Beach locality pay 2026: GS pay table
Norfolk, Newport News, Chesapeake and the rest of Hampton Roads are paid 18.8 % above the GS base rates in 2026.
GS-12 step 1, Virginia Beach, 2026
$90,838
Base $76,463 plus 18.8 % locality pay.
| Base pay (GS table) | $76,463 |
| Locality payment, Virginia Beach | $14,375 |
| Hourly rate | $43.53 |
| Biweekly paycheck (gross, 80 hours) | $3,482.40 |
| Same cell in 2025 | $89,939 (+$899) |
| Next step (52 weeks in step) | +$3,028 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · OPM table VB and the 2026 locality definitions
The Virginia Beach-Norfolk locality pay area adds 18.8 % to the General Schedule base table in 2026, unchanged from 2025, since Executive Order 14368 froze all localities while raising base pay 1 %. It spans two states: 18 Virginia jurisdictions, 10 of them independent cities such as Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton and Newport News, and 9 counties of northeastern North Carolina, including Dare and Currituck. A GS-5 step 1 earns $41,341, a GS-7 $51,210, a GS-9 $62,640, a GS-11 $75,788, a GS-12 $90,838 and a GS-13 $108,019. The area ranks 45th of 58. Richmond, the next area west, pays 22.28 %, and the Washington area 33.94 %, so a transfer north within Virginia usually brings a raise at the same grade and step. No cell of the table is capped: GS-15 step 10 pays $195,190.
Independent cities and two states
Virginia's independent cities are not part of any county, and OPM lists them one by one. The Hampton Roads area includes Chesapeake city, Franklin city, Hampton city, Newport News city, Norfolk city, Poquoson city, Portsmouth city, Suffolk city, Virginia Beach city and Williamsburg city, plus Gloucester County, Isle of Wight County, James City County, Mathews County, Middlesex County, Southampton County, Surry County and York County. Across the state line it takes in Camden County, Chowan County, Currituck County, Dare County, Gates County, Hertford County, Pasquotank County, Perquimans County and Tyrrell County in North Carolina. A worksite on the Outer Banks in Dare County is therefore paid the same table as one in downtown Norfolk, even though the rest of eastern North Carolina is mostly Rest of U.S..
Check a Hampton Roads or North Carolina worksite
Your locality pay area
Virginia Beach
| GS-9 step 1 here | $62,640 |
| GS-9 step 1, Rest of U.S. | $61,722 |
| Difference per year | +$918 |
Defense jobs, one percentage
The region holds a large defense civilian workforce. All of it is paid the same 18.8 % whatever the agency, because locality is set by place, not employer. Hourly figures matter here for shift and overtime work: a GS-8 step 5 earns $30.80 an hour, and an FLSA-exempt employee's overtime is capped at 1.5 times the local GS-10 step 1 hourly rate of $33.05 once the regular rate goes above it.
Richmond, Washington and Raleigh
Hampton Roads sits in the lower part of the ranking, below each of the named areas around it. Richmond pays 22.28 %, $2,661 more at GS-12 step 1. The Washington area pays $11,577 more at the same cell. Raleigh, the closest North Carolina metro with its own table, pays 22.24 %. These gaps come from surveys of non-federal pay in each market: the percentage is not an index of local living costs.
Who gets the Hampton Roads rate
The SF-50 worksite decides, not the home. A teleworker who lives in a Rest of U.S. county of Virginia but reports to an office in Portsmouth at least twice each biweekly pay period keeps this table under 5 CFR 531.605. Without that regular reporting, the approved home address becomes the worksite and its county sets the rate. A GS-11 step 5 who moves from a Norfolk office to full remote work from a Rest of U.S. county loses $1,258 a year; one who takes a position in Arlington gains $10,947.
The top of the table
With a percentage under 19 %, the Virginia Beach table never reaches the $197,200 cap: GS-15 step 10 stops at $195,190, $2,010 below. The Washington DC page covers the northern Virginia counties and the hourly pay page the overtime rule.
2026 GS pay table for Virginia Beach
| 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 | $37,193 | $38,230 | $39,414 | $40,646 | $41,878 | $43,110 | $44,342 | $45,574 | $46,806 | $48,038 |
| GS-5 | $41,341 | $42,719 | $44,097 | $45,475 | $46,854 | $48,232 | $49,610 | $50,988 | $52,366 | $53,744 |
| GS-6 | $46,084 | $47,620 | $49,156 | $50,692 | $52,228 | $53,764 | $55,300 | $56,836 | $58,372 | $59,908 |
| GS-7 | $51,210 | $52,917 | $54,624 | $56,331 | $58,039 | $59,746 | $61,453 | $63,160 | $64,867 | $66,574 |
| GS-8 | $56,713 | $58,603 | $60,493 | $62,383 | $64,273 | $66,163 | $68,053 | $69,944 | $71,834 | $73,724 |
| GS-9 | $62,640 | $64,728 | $66,817 | $68,905 | $70,994 | $73,082 | $75,171 | $77,259 | $79,348 | $81,436 |
| GS-10 | $68,980 | $71,279 | $73,578 | $75,876 | $78,175 | $80,474 | $82,773 | $85,071 | $87,370 | $89,669 |
| GS-11 | $75,788 | $78,315 | $80,842 | $83,369 | $85,896 | $88,423 | $90,950 | $93,477 | $96,003 | $98,530 |
| GS-12 | $90,838 | $93,866 | $96,894 | $99,923 | $102,951 | $105,979 | $109,007 | $112,036 | $115,064 | $118,092 |
| GS-13 | $108,019 | $111,620 | $115,221 | $118,821 | $122,422 | $126,023 | $129,624 | $133,225 | $136,826 | $140,426 |
| GS-14 | $127,646 | $131,901 | $136,157 | $140,412 | $144,668 | $148,923 | $153,178 | $157,434 | $161,689 | $165,945 |
| GS-15 | $150,144 | $155,149 | $160,154 | $165,159 | $170,164 | $175,169 | $180,174 | $185,180 | $190,185 | $195,190 |
Counties and cities in this area
North Carolina: Camden County, Chowan County, Currituck County, Dare County, Gates County, Hertford County, Pasquotank County, Perquimans County, Tyrrell County.
Virginia: Chesapeake city, Franklin city, Gloucester County, Hampton city, Isle of Wight County, James City County, Mathews County, Middlesex County, Newport News city, Norfolk city, Poquoson city, Portsmouth city, Southampton County, Suffolk city, Surry County, Virginia Beach city, Williamsburg city, York County.