Will You Be One of 16,000 Added to Higher Paying GS Locality Pay Areas?

The Federal Salary Council (FSC) can (and usually does) recommend changes to locality pay areas to the President’s Pay Agent. They make recommendations to incorporate new areas into existing locality pay areas or to create new GS locality pay areas when certain criteria are met. Generally, their goal is to add more people to the locality pay system and to provide higher salaries for federal employees through the locality pay system.

Adding Small and More Rural Areas to Locality Pay Areas

So, as one example, if an employee is in Westmoreland County, Virgina, this employee would be in the Washington, DC locality pay area if the FSC proposal is accepted. Those in the Washington locality pay area received a pay raise of 3.02% with an overall locality payment of 33.53% in 2022. There are no catch-up raises if Westmoreland County joins the Washington locality pay area but future raises reflecting the higher rate would add up over time. Mount Holly, VA, a town in Westmoreland County, is about a two-hour drive to Washington on a good day.

The Salary Council has been aggressive in adding new areas to be added as a new GS locality pay area or added to an existing area. While the latest proposals would not impact as many people as some earlier proposals, there are a large number of areas throughout the country that would become part of a locality pay area.

Cost of Living and GS Locality Pay Areas

Every year, FedSmith receives multiple queries from people asking questions such as “Why is [my city] not included in a locality pay area? The cost of living is very high in [my city] and it seems unfair that we do not receive locality pay.”

The reality is that GS locality pay is not based on the cost of living.

Locality pay increases are based on a comparison by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This federal agency measures non-federal compensation in a labor market and compares it to federal pay for GS employees performing similar work in the same geographic area.

BLS will, for example, compare the average salary of an engineer at a private company or state with the average salary of a federal employee who is an engineer in the same city. The pay gap between the two is a major factor in the GS locality pay adjustment for a specific area during a given year. The cost of housing or other living expenses in an area is not the major factor.

Quickly Search Jurisdictions to be Added: About 190 Counties (and Others)

The charts that follow show some of the changes recommended in their latest report. These counties or other jurisdictions would be added to existing GS locality pay areas as indicated if the recommendations are accepted by the Pay Agent. There are about 180 counties or other designated areas that would be added into GS locality pay areas.

If you are close to a locality pay area, it may be worth your time to check out the entire list. You may be surprised to see your area listed.

The effect of these changes would be to increase the salaries of about 16,000 federal employees by providing a GS locality pay rate for the existing pay area. In 2022, those in the “Rest of the US” pay area received a pay raise of 2.42%.

Many of these areas are small counties or other classifications in rural areas. Most computers will allow a search of this article for particular words (Command + F on a Mac/Control + F on a PC).

So, for example, if you are in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and are wondering if your city is being added, just do a search for “Rocky Mount” (minus the quotation marks) and you will see that your area would be added to the Raleigh, NC locality pay area. This would add a small bump to the annual salary of employees in Rocky Mount. Many of the proposed areas are relatively small and some may be surprised at being added to a locality pay area.

For most of these areas, being added to a GS locality pay area will result in at least a small increase in your federal salary.

Locations Adjacent to Multiple GS Locality Pay Areas Proposed as Areas of Application

Location	Single-County Statistical Area (If Applicable)	Adjacent Locality Pay Areas	Recommended Locality Pay Area	Added GS Employment
Clay County, AL		Birmingham and Atlanta	Birmingham	19
Schuylkill County, PA	Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area	Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and New York	Philadelphia	317
Gonzales County, TX		San Antonio and Austin	San Antonio	23
Jim Hogg County, TX		Laredo and Corpus Christi	Laredo	237
Westmoreland County, VA		Washington, DC and Richmond	Washington, DC	11
Total GS Employees				607

In the following chart are areas that would add another 11,859 federal employees to the GS locality pay system.

The following chart shows additional counties that would be incorporated into existing GS locality pay areas. These are “multi-county areas” that would be absorbed into existing pay areas.

Multi-County CBSAs Proposed as Areas of Application

Pay Area	Multi-County Area	Added GS Employment
Atlanta, GA	Columbus-Auburn-Opelika, GA-AL CSA	3,912
Birmingham, AL	Tuscaloosa, AL MSA	1,263
Boston, MA	Lebanon, NH-VT Micropolitan Area	1,046
Charlotte, NC	Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC MSA	149
Chicago, IL	Rockford-Freeport-Rochelle, IL CSA	239
Cleveland, OH	Mansfield-Ashland-Bucyrus, OH CSA	241
Cleveland, OH	Youngstown-Warren, OH-PA CSA	921
Dallas, TX	Ardmore, OK Micropolitan Area	29
Davenport, IA	Dixon-Sterling, IL CSA	31
Dayton, OH	Lima-Van Wert-Celina, OH CSA	155
Detroit, MI	Lansing-East Lansing, MI MSA	773
Huntsville, AL	Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL MSA	103
Indianapolis, IN	Bloomington-Bedford, IN CSA	142
Indianapolis, IN	Lafayette-West Lafayette-Frankfort, IN CSA	209
Indianapolis, IN	Richmond-Connersville, IN CSA	42
Minneapolis, MN	Mankato-New Ulm, MN CSA	65
Minneapolis, MN	Rochester-Austin, MN CSA	489
Philadelphia, PA	Salisbury-Cambridge, MD-DE CSA (excludes portion already in Washington-Baltimore locality pay area)	358
Pittsburgh, PA	Johnstown-Somerset, PA CSA	451
Pittsburgh, PA	Wheeling, WV-OH MSA	211
Raleigh, NC	Fayetteville, NC MSA (all but Moore County, NC, is already in the Raleigh locality pay area and will remain there).	30
Raleigh, NC	Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids, NC CSA	79
San Antonio, TX	Kerrville-Fredericksburg, TX CSA	324
Washington, DC	Cumberland, MD-WV MSA	327
Total GS Employees to be Added		11,859

These counties from several different states are proposed to be added to existing GS locality pay areas.

Single County CBSAs Proposed as Areas of Application

Pay Area	Place Name	Single-County MSA	Added GS Employment
Birmingham, AL	Etowah Co. AL	Gadsden, AL MSA	111
Detroit, MI	Jackson Co. MI	Jackson, MI MSA	57
Milwaukee, WI	Fond du Lac Co. WI	Fond du Lac, WI MSA	33
Milwaukee, WI	Sheboygan Co. WI	Sheboygan, WI MSA	12
Sacramento, CA	Butte Co. CA	Chico, CA MSA	264
Total GS Employees Impacted			477

The Salary Council is proposing to add numerous counties into existing locality pay areas on the theory that these counties are “areas of application.” This basically means that the counties do not qualify as a locality pay area but they are close to an existing one. There are several pages of these counties that are being proposed as additions to GS locality pay areas.

Pay Area	Place Name	Added GS Employment
Albany, NY	Greene Co. NY	4
Albany, NY	Hamilton Co. NY	1
Atlanta, GA	Banks Co. GA	1
Atlanta, GA	Cherokee Co. AL	4
Atlanta, GA	Cleburne Co. AL	19
Atlanta, GA	Elbert Co. GA	49
Atlanta, GA	Franklin Co. GA	3
Atlanta, GA	Gilmer Co. GA	31
Atlanta, GA	Greene Co. GA	4
Atlanta, GA	Lumpkin Co. GA	40
Atlanta, GA	Putnam Co. GA	30
Atlanta, GA	Rabun Co. GA	23
Atlanta, GA	Randolph Co. AL	5
Atlanta, GA	Taliaferro Co. GA	0
Atlanta, GA	White Co. GA	2
Austin, TX	Blanco Co. TX	26
Austin, TX	Burnet Co. TX	16
Austin, TX	Lee Co. TX	2
Austin, TX	Milam Co. TX	7
Birmingham, AL	Winston Co. AL	25
Boston, MA	Carroll Co. NH	43
Boston, MA	Cheshire Co. NH	37
Buffalo, NY	Wyoming Co. NY	8
Burlington, VT	Addison Co. VT	32
Burlington, VT	Lamoille Co. VT	2
Charlotte, NC	Chesterfield Co. SC	15
Chicago, IL	Iroquois Co. IL	4
Chicago, IL	Starke Co. IN	9
Cincinnati, OH	Adams Co. OH	1
Cincinnati, OH	Carroll Co. KY	7
Cincinnati, OH	Fleming Co. KY	7
Cincinnati, OH	Highland Co. OH	14
Cincinnati, OH	Lewis Co. KY	2
Cincinnati, OH	Owen Co. KY	0
Cincinnati, OH	Ripley Co. IN	6
Cincinnati, OH	Robertson Co. KY	0
Cincinnati, OH	Switzerland Co. IN	2
Cleveland, OH	Holmes Co. OH	12
Columbus, OH	Coshocton Co. OH	12
Columbus, OH	Hardin Co. OH	7
Columbus, OH	Morgan Co. OH	5
Columbus, OH	Noble Co. OH	0
Columbus, OH	Pike Co. OH	20
Columbus, OH	Vinton Co. OH	3
Corpus Christi, TX	Live Oak Co. TX	182

Pay Area	Place Name	Added GS Employment
Corpus Christi, TX	Refugio Co. TX	5
Dallas, TX	Hill Co. TX	20
Dallas, TX	Jack Co. TX	3
Dallas, TX	Montague Co. TX	5
Dallas, TX	Rains Co. TX	0
Dallas, TX	Van Zandt Co. TX	7
Davenport, IA	Cedar Co. IA	51
Davenport, IA	Jackson Co. IA	7
Davenport, IA	Louisa Co. IA	29
Denver, CO	Lincoln Co. CO	4
Des Moines, IA	Adair Co. IA	3
Des Moines, IA	Clarke Co. IA	5
Des Moines, IA	Greene Co. IA	3
Des Moines, IA	Hamilton Co. IA	12
Des Moines, IA	Lucas Co. IA	13
Des Moines, IA	Monroe Co. IA	8
Des Moines, IA	Poweshiek Co. IA	7
Detroit, MI	Sanilac Co. MI	5
Detroit, MI	Tuscola Co. MI	19
Harrisburg, PA	Juniata Co. PA	21
Houston, TX	Colorado Co. TX	7
Houston, TX	Grimes Co. TX	2
Houston, TX	Jackson Co. TX	6
Houston, TX	Madison Co. TX	1
Huntsville, AL	Lincoln Co. TN	3
Indianapolis, IN	Blackford Co. IN	1
Indianapolis, IN	Fountain Co. IN	4
Indianapolis, IN	Randolph Co. IN	3
Indianapolis, IN	Rush Co. IN	1
Indianapolis, IN	Tipton Co. IN	1
Kansas City, MO	Anderson Co. KS	1
Kansas City, MO	Carroll Co. MO	5
Kansas City, MO	Daviess Co. MO	4
Kansas City, MO	Gentry Co. MO	4
Kansas City, MO	Henry Co. MO	13
Kansas City, MO	Holt Co. MO	8
Laredo, TX	La Salle Co. TX	105
Minneapolis, MN	Kanabec Co. MN	7
Minneapolis, MN	Meeker Co. MN	12
Minneapolis, MN	Morrison Co. MN	188
Minneapolis, MN	Pine Co. MN	196
Minneapolis, MN	Polk Co. WI	24
Minneapolis, MN	Waseca Co. MN	167
New York, NY	Sullivan Co. NY	25
New York, NY	Wayne Co. PA	361
Omaha, NE	Burt Co. NE	1
Omaha, NE	Fremont Co. IA	4
Omaha, NE	Shelby Co. IA	8
Pittsburgh, PA	Greene Co. PA	21
Portland, OR	Wahkiakum Co. WA	2
Raleigh, NC	Caswell Co. NC	1

Pay Area	Place Name	Employment Interchange Rate	Added GS Employment
Raleigh, NC	Warren Co. NC	55.00%	2
Richmond, VA	Brunswick Co. VA	26.62%	4
Richmond, VA	Essex Co. VA	32.92%	3
Richmond, VA	Greensville Co. VA	23.36%	0
Richmond, VA	Nottoway Co. VA	42.53%	148
Sacramento, CA	Alpine Co. CA	41.04%	0
Sacramento, CA	Amador Co. CA	33.91%	24
Sacramento, CA	Colusa Co. CA	30.46%	20
Sacramento, CA	Sierra Co. CA	24.45%	25
San Antonio, TX	Karnes Co. TX	29.32%	55
San Antonio, TX	McMullen Co. TX	22.53%	1
San Jose, CA	Calaveras Co. CA	29.92%	46
Seattle, WA	Grays Harbor Co. WA	21.55%	34
St. Louis, MO	Crawford Co. MO	34.45%	2
St. Louis, MO	Fayette Co. IL	27.72%	4
St. Louis, MO	Gasconade Co. MO	34.02%	1
St. Louis, MO	Greene Co. IL	38.11%	3
St. Louis, MO	Iron Co. MO	33.99%	3
St. Louis, MO	Madison Co. MO	36.47%	4
St. Louis, MO	Montgomery Co. IL	36.25%	27
St. Louis, MO	Montgomery Co. MO	33.24%	7
St. Louis, MO	Pike Co. MO	22.35%	9
St. Louis, MO	Randolph Co. IL	30.55%	10
St. Louis, MO	Ste. Genevieve Co. MO	51.91%	5
St. Louis, MO	Washington Co. IL	52.11%	6
St. Louis, MO	Washington Co. MO	68.47%	32
Virginia Beach, VA	Chowan Co. NC	49.53%	11
Virginia Beach, VA	Hertford Co. NC	21.97%	16
Virginia Beach, VA	Middlesex Co. VA	36.78%	1
Virginia Beach, VA	Surry Co. VA	76.16%	1
Washington, DC	Caroline Co. MD	58.41%	8
Washington, DC	Fulton Co. PA	54.21%	2
Washington, DC	Hardy Co. WV	26.63%	27
Washington, DC	Orange Co. VA	63.79%	15
Washington, DC	Shenandoah Co. VA	41.31%	51
Total GS Employees Impacted			2742

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