What is the 2026 locality pay for Chicago?

Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI has a 30.86% locality payment in 2026, ranked 11 of 58 areas. A GS-13 step 1 earns $118,984; a GS-7 step 1 earns $56,409.

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

30.86% vs 17.06% — a GS-12 step 1 makes $100,059 in Chicago versus $89,508 in Rest of U.S., a difference of $10,551.

Chicago GS Pay Scale 2026

Locality pay area Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI — 30.86% locality payment, ranked #11 of 58. Rates below include the 2026 1% general increase and locality adjustment.

Source: OPM Salary Table 2026-CHI · 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	29,553	30,544	31,527	32,506	33,486	34,060	35,033	36,011	36,052	36,965
GS-2	33,229	34,020	35,122	36,052	36,455	37,527	38,598	39,670	40,742	41,814
GS-3	36,259	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*

Hourly rates (step 1 / step 10)

GS-1

$14.16 – $17.71/hr

GS-2

$15.92 – $20.04/hr

GS-3

$17.37 – $22.59/hr

GS-4

$19.50 – $25.35/hr

GS-5

$21.82 – $28.37/hr

GS-6

$24.32 – $31.62/hr

GS-7

$27.03 – $35.14/hr

GS-8

$29.93 – $38.91/hr

GS-9

$33.06 – $42.98/hr

GS-10

$36.41 – $47.33/hr

GS-11

$40.00 – $52.00/hr

GS-12

$47.94 – $62.33/hr

GS-13

$57.01 – $74.12/hr

GS-14

$67.37 – $87.59/hr

GS-15

$79.25 – $94.49/hr

Private-sector pay in this area

BLS metro wage data for the same region:

Accountant · Chicago Registered nurse · Chicago

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%Boston 32.58%Alaska 32.36%Hartford 32.08%Seattle 31.57%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%