In Raising Federal Employee Pay By Expanding Locality Pay Areas, we pointed out two of the ways in which the Federal Salary Council is expanding locality pay areas for federal employees.
As outlined in that article, there are numerous other geographic areas also being recommended for locality pay. The Salary Council lists these as “proposed new areas of application….These locations would be included in separate locality pay areas in addition to locations that will be in separate locality pay areas under the final regulations implementing locality pay areas applicable in January 2016.”
The Salary Council in 2014 recommended changes for adding criteria for evaluating single county “Rest of U.S.” locations that border multiple existing locality pay areas. It also recommended evaluating “Rest of U.S.” locations surrounded largely by higher paying locality pay areas into the locality pay system for inclusion into one of the separate locality pay areas bordering these areas.
Effectively, the Salary Council is recommending expanding locality pay to wide swaths of the United States, including some areas without any or one federal employee working under the General Schedule pay scale. The latest report from the President’s Pay Agent is dated October 23, 2015. The Pay Agent reviews recommendations from the Salary Council and decides if or when to proceed with recommendations.
We anticipate next report from the Pay Agent will be issued about the same time in 2016. The actual decision is up to the President’s Pay Agent. The Pay Agent, which is made up of the Secretary of Labor, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, does not automatically accept the recommendations of the Salary Council. It is not unusual for recommendations to be delayed for a year or more and it is not required that the Pay Agent ever accept the recommendations of the Salary Council. But, when the Salary Council makes a recommendation, it will usually be addressed and seriously considered
More information is available in the latest Salary Council report.
The list below displays “counties qualifying as areas of application under the proposed criteria for single-county locations adjacent to multiple locality pay areas and not qualifying under other criteria as areas of application.”
| Location | Single-County Metropolitan Area | Adjacent Locality Pay Areas | Commuting | Recommended Locality Pay Area | GS Employees |
| La Paz County, AZ | N/A | Las Vegas,Los Angeles, and Phoenix | Las Vegas, 7.85%; Los Angeles, 14.68%; Phoenix, 1.11% | Los Angeles | 214 |
| Imperial County, CA | El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | Los Angeles and San Diego | Los Angeles, 4.74%; San Diego, 3.18% | Los Angeles | 2,016 |
| Lake County, CA | Clearlake, CA Micropolitan Statistical Area | Sacramento and San Francisco | Sacramento, 0.69%; San Francisco, 19.99% | San Francisco | 87 |
| Lincoln County, CO | N/A | Colorado Springs and Denver | Colorado Springs, 7.81%; Denver 16.35% | Denver | 3 |
| Holmes County, OH | N/A | Cleveland and Columbus | Cleveland, 19.85%; Columbus, 2.67% | Cleveland | 12 |
| Schuylkill County, PA | Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area | Harrisburg, New York, and Philadelphia | Harrisburg, 9.15%; Philadelphia, 11.21%; New York, 10.43% | Philadelphia | 309 |
| Fayette County, TX | N/A | Austin and Houston | Austin, 11.53%; Houston, 12.95% | Houston | 7 |
| Westmoreland County, VA | N/A | Richmond and Washington | Richmond, 6.31%; Washington 27.69% | Washington, DC | 16 |
Adjacent “Rest of U.S.” Single Counties with 20 Percent or Higher Commuting
There are more than 100 counties in the U.S. in which the Salary Council indicates qualify “as areas of application under the proposed criteria for adjacent counties that are not part of a CBSA (Core-Based Statistical Area) or comprise a single-county micropolitan area….” Here is a listing of these counties, some of which have only one federal employee working under the General Schedule.
| Pay Area | Place Name | Employment Interchange | GS Employees | Feb 2013 Metro Status |
| ALBANY | Greene Co. NY | 49.84% | 3 | Not in a metro area |
| ALBANY | Hamilton Co. NY | 35.44% | 3 | Not in a metro area |
| ALBUQUERQUE | Mora Co. NM | 49.32% | 20 | Not in a metro area |
| ALBUQUERQUE | Socorro Co. NM | 21.41% | 109 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | Banks Co. GA | 78.97% | 1 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | Cleburne Co. AL | 35.09% | 19 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | Franklin Co. GA | 25.87% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | Gilmer Co. GA | 27.53% | 37 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | Greene Co. GA | 36.49% | 4 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | Habersham Co. GA | 22.78% | 35 | Cornelia, GA Single County Micropolitan Statistical Area |
| ATLANTA | Lumpkin Co. GA | 66.59% | 33 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | Putnam Co. GA | 24.03% | 29 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | Randolph Co. AL | 25.94% | 7 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | Talbot Co. GA | 37.18% | 1 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | Taliaferro Co. GA | 25.81% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| ATLANTA | White Co. GA | 38.88% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| AUSTIN | Blanco Co. TX | 26.16% | 34 | Not in a metro area |
| AUSTIN | Burnet Co. TX | 21.70% | 22 | Not in a metro area |
| AUSTIN | Lee Co. TX | 29.18% | 1 | Not in a metro area |
| BOSTON | Carroll Co. NH | 25.68% | 45 | Not in a metro area |
| BOSTON | Cheshire Co. NH | 20.23% | 32 | Keene, NH Single County Micropolitan Statistical Area |
| BUFFALO | Wyoming Co. NY | 43.43% | 6 | Not in a metro area |
| CHARLOTTE | Anson Co. NC | 40.49% | 4 | Not in a metro area |
| CHARLOTTE | Chesterfield Co. SC | 22.22% | 16 | Not in a metro area |
| CHICAGO | Iroquois Co. IL | 34.28% | 2 | Not in a metro area |
| CHICAGO | Starke Co. IN | 31.19% | 8 | Not in a metro area |
| CINCINNATI | Adams Co. OH | 33.24% | 2 | Not in a metro area |
| CINCINNATI | Fleming Co. KY | 24.45% | 9 | Not in a metro area |
| CINCINNATI | Highland Co. OH | 38.65% | 15 | Not in a metro area |
| CINCINNATI | Lewis Co. KY | 21.70% | 1 | Not in a metro area |
| CINCINNATI | Owen Co. KY | 34.26% | 3 | Not in a metro area |
| CINCINNATI | Ripley Co. IN | 35.58% | 8 | Not in a metro area |
| CINCINNATI | Robertson Co. KY | 41.90% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| CINCINNATI | Switzerland Co. IN | 48.70% | 3 | Not in a metro area |
| CLEVELAND | Harrison Co. OH | 32.01% | 7 | Not in a metro area |
| CLEVELAND | Wayne Co. OH | 35.51% | 67 | Wooster, OH Single County Micropolitan Statistical Area |
| COLUMBUS | Coshocton Co. OH | 20.80% | 9 | Coshocton, OH Single County Micropolitan Statistical Area |
| COLUMBUS | Hardin Co. OH | 22.92% | 7 | Not in a metro area |
| COLUMBUS | Morgan Co. OH | 34.49% | 1 | Not in a metro area |
| COLUMBUS | Noble Co. OH | 43.65% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| COLUMBUS | Pike Co. OH | 35.41% | 28 | Not in a metro area |
| COLUMBUS | Vinton Co. OH | 35.30% | 3 | Not in a metro area |
| DALLAS | Atoka Co. OK | 22.09% | 12 | Not in a metro area |
| DALLAS | Bosque Co. TX | 22.98% | 24 | Not in a metro area |
| DALLAS | Franklin Co. TX | 24.38% | 2 | Not in a metro area |
| DALLAS | Hill Co. TX | 34.42% | 18 | Not in a metro area |
| DALLAS | Jack Co. TX | 40.87% | 2 | Not in a metro area |
| DALLAS | Love Co. OK | 42.88% | 4 | Not in a metro area |
| DALLAS | Montague Co. TX | 40.64% | 5 | Not in a metro area |
| DALLAS | Rains Co. TX | 60.24% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| DALLAS | Van Zandt Co. TX | 44.75% | 9 | Not in a metro area |
| DAVENPORT | Cedar Co. IA | 33.40% | 44 | Not in a metro area |
| DAVENPORT | Jackson Co. IA | 25.88% | 8 | Not in a metro area |
| DAVENPORT | Louisa Co. IA | 37.26% | 25 | Not in a metro area |
| DETROIT | Sanilac Co. MI | 40.48% | 5 | Not in a metro area |
| DETROIT | Tuscola Co. MI | 25.43% | 19 | Not in a metro area |
| HARRISBURG | Juniata Co. PA | 31.04% | 17 | Not in a metro area |
| HOUSTON | Colorado Co. TX | 37.28% | 9 | Not in a metro area |
| HOUSTON | Grimes Co. TX | 39.90% | 4 | Not in a metro area |
| HOUSTON | Polk Co. TX | 24.34% | 12 | Not in a metro area |
| HUNTSVILLE | Lincoln Co. TN | 31.04% | 5 | Not in a metro area |
| INDIANAPOLIS | Blackford Co. IN | 31.03% | 1 | Not in a metro area |
| INDIANAPOLIS | Fountain Co. IN | 26.59% | 2 | Not in a metro area |
| INDIANAPOLIS | Parke Co. IN | 23.11% | 10 | Not in a metro area |
| INDIANAPOLIS | Randolph Co. IN | 28.33% | 2 | Not in a metro area |
| INDIANAPOLIS | Rush Co. IN | 71.71% | 1 | Not in a metro area |
| INDIANAPOLIS | Tipton Co. IN | 41.34% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| KANSAS CITY | Anderson Co. KS | 34.15% | 3 | Not in a metro area |
| KANSAS CITY | Brown Co. KS | 21.90% | 19 | Not in a metro area |
| KANSAS CITY | Carroll Co. MO | 26.42% | 5 | Not in a metro area |
| KANSAS CITY | Daviess Co. MO | 42.57% | 8 | Not in a metro area |
| KANSAS CITY | Gentry Co. MO | 24.10% | 4 | Not in a metro area |
| KANSAS CITY | Henry Co. MO | 30.16% | 16 | Not in a metro area |
| KANSAS CITY | Holt Co. MO | 30.21% | 9 | Not in a metro area |
| MIAMI | Glades Co. FL | 32.30% | 8 | Not in a metro area |
| MINNEAPOLIS | Kanabec Co. MN | 47.01% | 8 | Not in a metro area |
| MINNEAPOLIS | Meeker Co. MN | 59.92% | 16 | Not in a metro area |
| MINNEAPOLIS | Morrison Co. MN | 34.80% | 164 | Not in a metro area |
| MINNEAPOLIS | Pepin Co. WI | 20.22% | 2 | Not in a metro area |
| MINNEAPOLIS | Pine Co. MN | 31.52% | 208 | Not in a metro area |
| MINNEAPOLIS | Polk Co. WI | 40.90% | 29 | Not in a metro area |
| MINNEAPOLIS | Steele Co. MN | 21.01% | 3 | Owatonna, MN Single County Micropolitan Statistical Area |
| NEW YORK | Sullivan Co. NY | 37.72% | 32 | Not in a metro area |
| NEW YORK | Wayne Co. PA | 23.29% | 360 | Not in a metro area |
| PITTSBURGH | Greene Co. PA | 47.24% | 33 | Not in a metro area |
| PORTLAND | Wahkiakum Co. WA | 41.47% | 4 | Not in a metro area |
| RALEIGH | Caswell Co. NC | 22.56% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| RALEIGH | Warren Co. NC | 54.84% | 2 | Not in a metro area |
| RICHMOND | Essex Co. VA | 29.45% | 4 | Not in a metro area |
| RICHMOND | Greensville Co. VA | 26.60% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| RICHMOND | Nottoway Co. VA | 41.63% | 166 | Not in a metro area |
| RICHMOND | Surry Co. VA | 37.26% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| SACRAMENTO | Alpine Co. CA | 23.95% | 11 | Not in a metro area |
| SACRAMENTO | Amador Co. CA | 27.67% | 47 | Not in a metro area |
| SACRAMENTO | Colusa Co. CA | 29.31% | 38 | Not in a metro area |
| SACRAMENTO | Sierra Co. CA | 22.54% | 39 | Not in a metro area |
| SAN FRANCISCO | Calaveras Co. CA | 27.38% | 56 | Not in a metro area |
| SEATTLE | Grays Harbor Co. WA | 22.97% | 38 | Aberdeen, WA Single County Micropolitan Statistical Area |
| ST. LOUIS | Gasconade Co. MO | 33.97% | 1 | Not in a metro area |
| ST. LOUIS | Greene Co. IL | 32.10% | 4 | Not in a metro area |
| ST. LOUIS | Iron County, MO | 37.54% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| ST. LOUIS | Madison Co. MO | 35.36% | 0 | Not in a metro area |
| ST. LOUIS | Montgomery Co. IL | 32.81% | 26 | Not in a metro area |
| ST. LOUIS | Montgomery Co. MO | 38.95% | 3 | Not in a metro area |
| ST. LOUIS | Pike Co. MO | 21.75% | 9 | Not in a metro area |
| ST. LOUIS | Randolph Co. IL | 34.63% | 16 | Not in a metro area |
| ST. LOUIS | Ste. Genevieve Co. MO | 50.27% | 2 | Not in a metro area |
| ST. LOUIS | Washington Co. IL | 47.32% | 7 | Not in a metro area |
| ST. LOUIS | Washington Co. MO | 63.99% | 22 | Not in a metro area |
| WASHINGTON, DC | Caroline Co. MD | 67.01% | 6 | Not in a metro area |
| WASHINGTON, DC | Fulton Co. PA | 51.64% | 2 | Not in a metro area |
| WASHINGTON, DC | Madison Co. VA | 38.46% | 19 | Not in a metro area |
| WASHINGTON, DC | Orange Co. VA | 58.33% | 11 | Not in a metro area |
| WASHINGTON, DC | Page Co. VA | 24.26% | 100 | Not in a metro area |
| WASHINGTON, DC | Shenandoah Co. VA | 40.48% | 48 | Not in a metro area |
When action is taken by the President’s Pay Agent later this year, we will advise readers on their decisions that impact locality pay.
