The Office of Personnel Management has published the 2023 GS locality pay tables after the announcement of the 2023 federal pay raise. Which General Schedule locality pay areas fared best in terms of the total overall pay raise next year?
Top 10 2023 GS Locality Pay Increases
As previously announced, there is a basic pay raise of 4.1% with an additional 0.5% to be used for locality pay. This means that some areas will get a higher raise than others. Here are all of the 2023 locality pay tables for each grade and step in ever locality.
Federal employees in these GS locality pay areas will see the highest pay raises next year. Here are the top ten areas with the highest locality pay rates for 2023:
| Locality Area | Percentage Pay Increase |
| Seattle | 5.15 |
| San Jose | 5.13 |
| Los Angeles | 5.1 |
| San Diego | 5.01 |
| New York | 4.95 |
| Sacramento | 4.92 |
| Boston | 4.87 |
| Denver | 4.87 |
| Washington | 4.86 |
| Minneapolis | 4.85 |
All Locality Pay Areas and 2023 Locality Pay Rate
| Locality Area | Percentage Increase |
| Albany | 4.78 |
| Albuquerque | 4.54 |
| Atlanta | 4.43 |
| Austin | 4.63 |
| Birmingham | 4.63 |
| Boston | 4.87 |
| Buffalo | 4.59 |
| Burlington | 4.71 |
| Charlotte | 4.60 |
| Chicago | 4.59 |
| Cincinnati | 4.45 |
| Cleveland | 4.48 |
| Colorado Springs | 4.71 |
| Columbus | 4.6 |
| Corpus Christi | 4.35 |
| Dallas | 4.67 |
| Davenport | 4.66 |
| Dayton | 4.67 |
| Denver | 4.87 |
| Des Moines | 4.64 |
| Detroit | 4.52 |
| Harrisburg | 4.71 |
| Hartford | 4.67 |
| Houston | 4.5 |
| Huntsville | 4.54 |
| Indianapolis | 4.38 |
| Kansas City | 4.55 |
| Laredo | 4.79 |
| Las Vegas | 4.55 |
| Los Angeles | 5.1 |
| Miami | 4.39 |
| Milwaukee | 4.46 |
| Minneapolis | 4.85 |
| New York | 4.95 |
| Omaha | 4.63 |
| Palm Bay | 4.36 |
| Philadelphia | 4.83 |
| Phoenix | 4.62 |
| Pittsburgh | 4.51 |
| Portland | 4.64 |
| Raleigh | 4.47 |
| Rest of U.S. | 4.37 |
| Richmond | 4.74 |
| Sacramento | 4.92 |
| San Antonio | 4.64 |
| San Diego | 5.01 |
| San Jose | 5.13 |
| Seattle | 5.15 |
| St. Louis | 4.76 |
| Tucson | 4.66 |
| Virginia Beach | 4.78 |
| Washington | 4.86 |
Lowest 2023 Locality Pay Rate Areas
| Locality Area | Percentage Increase |
| Corpus Christi | 4.35 |
| Palm Bay | 4.36 |
| Rest of U.S. | 4.37 |
| Indianapolis | 4.38 |
| Miami | 4.39 |
| Atlanta | 4.43 |
| Cincinnati | 4.45 |
| Milwaukee | 4.46 |
| Raleigh | 4.47 |
| Cleveland | 4.48 |
How is GS Locality Pay Determined?
According to OPM, here is how the General Schedule locality system pay raises are determined:
The law requires a two-part GS pay adjustment in January each year with pay adjustments based on surveys conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Based on legal requirements, BLS conducts locality pay surveys in geographic areas designated by the President’s Pay Agent as locality pay areas, with survey data representing non-Federal salaries (including State and local) at distinct levels of work.
Since a distinct work-level to work-level pay comparison is required, beginning pay rates for GS jobs must be compared to beginning pay rates for non-Federal jobs at the same level of work, etc.
In the locality pay program, Federal pay is compared to non-Federal pay for the same levels of work. The results of such pay comparisons can be found in annual recommendations of the Federal Salary Council and in annual reports of the President’s Pay Agent.
Are There Any Changes to Locality Pay Areas in 2023?
The 2023 locality pay areas will be substantially the same with the addition of Carroll County, Illinois, as an “area of application” to the Davenport-Moline, Iowa-Illinois locality pay area, and Brook County, Texas will be added as an area of application to the Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, Texas, locality pay area.
Have Any New Locality Pay Areas Been Recommended?
The President’s Pay Agent has approved adding the following cities to be approved by the President’s Pay Agent as new locality pay areas:
Fresno, California
Reno, Nevada
Rochester, New York and
Spokane, WA.
Has the Pay Agent Approved Any Other Changes in Locality Pay for 2024?
The changes the Council recommended for evaluating adjacent areas as potential “areas of application” would add a number of multi-county metropolitan areas and single counties to existing locality pay areas. All of the changes would add about 32,000 federal employees to the GS locality pay system according to a statement from the Office of Personnel Management.
