What is the 2026 locality pay for Seattle?

Seattle-Tacoma, WA has a 31.57% locality payment in 2026, ranked 10 of 58 areas. A GS-13 step 1 earns $119,630; a GS-7 step 1 earns $56,715.

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

31.57% vs 17.06% — a GS-12 step 1 makes $100,602 in Seattle versus $89,508 in Rest of U.S., a difference of $11,094.

Seattle GS Pay Scale 2026

Locality pay area Seattle-Tacoma, WA — 31.57% locality payment, ranked #10 of 58. Rates below include the 2026 1% general increase and locality adjustment.

Source: OPM Salary Table 2026-SEA · 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	29,714	30,710	31,698	32,682	33,667	34,245	35,223	36,207	36,248	37,166
GS-2	33,410	34,204	35,312	36,248	36,653	37,730	38,808	39,885	40,963	42,041
GS-3	36,455	37,671	38,887	40,103	41,318	42,534	43,750	44,965	46,181	47,397
GS-4	40,922	42,287	43,651	45,015	46,380	47,744	49,109	50,473	51,837	53,202
GS-5	45,785	47,311	48,837	50,364	51,890	53,416	54,942	56,469	57,995	59,521
GS-6	51,037	52,739	54,440	56,141	57,842	59,543	61,245	62,946	64,647	66,348
GS-7	56,715	58,605	60,496	62,387	64,277	66,168	68,059	69,949	71,840	73,731
GS-8	62,809	64,902	66,995	69,089	71,182	73,275	75,369	77,462	79,555	81,648
GS-9	69,373	71,686	73,999	76,312	78,625	80,938	83,251	85,564	87,877	90,190
GS-10	76,395	78,941	81,487	84,032	86,578	89,124	91,670	94,216	96,762	99,308
GS-11	83,935	86,734	89,532	92,331	95,129	97,928	100,726	103,525	106,323	109,122
GS-12	100,602	103,956	107,310	110,664	114,017	117,371	120,725	124,078	127,432	130,786
GS-13	119,630	123,618	127,606	131,594	135,582	139,569	143,557	147,545	151,533	155,521
GS-14	141,367	146,080	150,792	155,505	160,218	164,931	169,644	174,357	179,069	183,782
GS-15	166,283	171,826	177,370	182,913	188,456	193,999	197,200*	197,200*	197,200*	197,200*

Hourly rates (step 1 / step 10)

GS-1

$14.24 – $17.81/hr

GS-2

$16.01 – $20.14/hr

GS-3

$17.47 – $22.71/hr

GS-4

$19.61 – $25.49/hr

GS-5

$21.94 – $28.52/hr

GS-6

$24.45 – $31.79/hr

GS-7

$27.18 – $35.33/hr

GS-8

$30.10 – $39.12/hr

GS-9

$33.24 – $43.22/hr

GS-10

$36.61 – $47.58/hr

GS-11

$40.22 – $52.29/hr

GS-12

$48.20 – $62.67/hr

GS-13

$57.32 – $74.52/hr

GS-14

$67.74 – $88.06/hr

GS-15

$79.68 – $94.49/hr

Private-sector pay in this area

BLS metro wage data for the same region:

Accountant · Seattle Registered nurse · Seattle

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%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%