What is the 2026 locality pay for Boston?

Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT has a 32.58% locality payment in 2026, ranked 7 of 58 areas. A GS-13 step 1 earns $120,548; a GS-7 step 1 earns $57,150.

How much more is Boston than Rest of U.S.?

32.58% vs 17.06% — a GS-12 step 1 makes $101,375 in Boston versus $89,508 in Rest of U.S., a difference of $11,867.

Boston GS Pay Scale 2026

Locality pay area Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT — 32.58% locality payment, ranked #7 of 58. Rates below include the 2026 1% general increase and locality adjustment.

Source: OPM Salary Table 2026-BOS · area definition. Cells marked * are limited to EX-IV ($197,200).

Grade	Step 1	Step 2	Step 3	Step 4	Step 5	Step 6	Step 7	Step 8	Step 9	Step 10
GS-1	29,942	30,945	31,941	32,933	33,926	34,508	35,493	36,485	36,526	37,451
GS-2	33,666	34,467	35,583	36,526	36,934	38,020	39,106	40,192	41,277	42,363
GS-3	36,735	37,960	39,185	40,410	41,635	42,860	44,086	45,311	46,536	47,761
GS-4	41,236	42,611	43,986	45,361	46,736	48,111	49,485	50,860	52,235	53,610
GS-5	46,137	47,674	49,212	50,750	52,288	53,826	55,364	56,902	58,440	59,978
GS-6	51,429	53,143	54,858	56,572	58,286	60,000	61,715	63,429	65,143	66,857
GS-7	57,150	59,055	60,960	62,865	64,771	66,676	68,581	70,486	72,391	74,297
GS-8	63,291	65,400	67,510	69,619	71,728	73,838	75,947	78,056	80,166	82,275
GS-9	69,905	72,236	74,567	76,898	79,228	81,559	83,890	86,221	88,552	90,882
GS-10	76,981	79,547	82,112	84,678	87,243	89,808	92,374	94,939	97,505	100,070
GS-11	84,579	87,399	90,219	93,039	95,859	98,679	101,499	104,319	107,139	109,959
GS-12	101,375	104,754	108,134	111,513	114,893	118,272	121,651	125,031	128,410	131,790
GS-13	120,548	124,567	128,585	132,604	136,622	140,641	144,659	148,678	152,696	156,715
GS-14	142,452	147,201	151,950	156,699	161,448	166,197	170,946	175,695	180,444	185,193
GS-15	167,560	173,146	178,731	184,317	189,902	195,488	197,200*	197,200*	197,200*	197,200*

Hourly rates (step 1 / step 10)

GS-1

$14.35 – $17.94/hr

GS-2

$16.13 – $20.30/hr

GS-3

$17.60 – $22.89/hr

GS-4

$19.76 – $25.69/hr

GS-5

$22.11 – $28.74/hr

GS-6

$24.64 – $32.03/hr

GS-7

$27.38 – $35.60/hr

GS-8

$30.33 – $39.42/hr

GS-9

$33.50 – $43.55/hr

GS-10

$36.89 – $47.95/hr

GS-11

$40.53 – $52.69/hr

GS-12

$48.57 – $63.15/hr

GS-13

$57.76 – $75.09/hr

GS-14

$68.26 – $88.74/hr

GS-15

$80.29 – $94.49/hr

Private-sector pay in this area

BLS metro wage data for the same region:

Accountant · Boston Registered nurse · Boston

Other locality areas

San Francisco Bay Area 46.34%New York 37.95%Los Angeles 36.47%Houston 35%Washington DC 33.94%San Diego 33.72%Alaska 32.36%Hartford 32.08%Seattle 31.57%Chicago 30.86%Denver 30.52%Sacramento 29.76%Detroit 29.12%Philadelphia 28.99%Minneapolis 27.62%Dallas-Fort Worth 27.26%Portland 26.13%Miami 24.67%Atlanta 23.79%Phoenix 22.45%Milwaukee 22.42%Buffalo 22.41%Richmond 22.28%Raleigh 22.24%Cleveland 22.23%Hawaii 22.21%Columbus 22.15%Cincinnati 21.93%Huntsville 21.91%Laredo 21.59%Dayton 21.42%Pittsburgh 21.03%Albany 20.77%Austin 20.35%Colorado Springs 20.15%St. Louis 20.03%Charlotte 19.67%Las Vegas 19.57%Burlington 19.45%Harrisburg 19.43%Tucson 19.28%Kansas City 18.97%Davenport 18.93%Virginia Beach 18.8%San Antonio 18.78%Albuquerque 18.33%Birmingham 18.24%Omaha 18.23%Indianapolis 18.15%Des Moines 18.01%Palm Bay 17.93%Rochester 17.88%Spokane 17.67%Fresno 17.65%Corpus Christi 17.63%Reno 17.52%Rest of U.S. 17.06%