An independent federal pay resource. Not affiliated with OPM or any U.S. government agency.

Updated with current federal pay tables and reference data

28.99% 2026 locality adjustment above base GS
$29,131 to $197,200 GS-1 Step 1 to GS-15 Step 10
21 Counties and cities covered

2026 Philadelphia pay schedule

Every grade and step below already includes the 28.99% locality adjustment. Click any grade to open its dedicated single-grade pay scale page for Philadelphia.

Grade Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Step 10
GS-1 $29,131$30,108$31,076$32,041$33,007$33,574$34,532$35,497$35,537$36,437
GS-2 $32,754$33,534$34,620$35,537$35,934$36,990$38,047$39,103$40,160$41,216
GS-3 $35,741$36,932$38,124$39,316$40,508$41,700$42,892$44,084$45,275$46,467
GS-4 $40,120$41,457$42,795$44,133$45,470$46,808$48,146$49,483$50,821$52,158
GS-5 $44,887$46,384$47,880$49,376$50,872$52,369$53,865$55,361$56,858$58,354
GS-6 $50,037$51,704$53,372$55,040$56,708$58,376$60,044$61,711$63,379$65,047
GS-7 $55,602$57,456$59,310$61,163$63,017$64,870$66,724$68,578$70,431$72,285
GS-8 $61,577$63,629$65,682$67,734$69,786$71,838$73,891$75,943$77,995$80,047
GS-9 $68,013$70,280$72,548$74,815$77,083$79,351$81,618$83,886$86,154$88,421
GS-10 $74,897$77,393$79,889$82,385$84,881$87,377$89,872$92,368$94,864$97,360
GS-11 $82,289$85,033$87,776$90,520$93,264$96,007$98,751$101,494$104,238$106,982
GS-12 $98,630$101,918$105,206$108,493$111,781$115,069$118,357$121,645$124,933$128,221
GS-13 $117,284$121,194$125,104$129,013$132,923$136,833$140,742$144,652$148,562$152,471
GS-14 $138,595$143,215$147,835$152,456$157,076$161,697$166,317$170,938$175,558$180,178
GS-15 $163,023$168,457$173,891$179,326$184,760$190,194$195,629$197,200$197,200$197,200
Calculate my take-home Compare with base table

Pay snapshot for popular grades

Grade-level salaries

Open a specific grade in Philadelphia

Every GS grade has a dedicated single-grade pay scale page for this locality area. Each page shows all 10 steps, annual, biweekly and hourly pay, and the locality add-on broken out.

About the Philadelphia locality pay area

The Philadelphia Locality Area is one of the official OPM General Schedule locality pay areas. It is defined by a set of counties and independent cities within Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland. Any federal employee whose duty station is inside this boundary is paid from this locality table rather than the nationwide base GS schedule.

For 2026, the locality adjustment is 28.99%. That means a GS-1 Step 1 employee in Philadelphia earns $29,131, and a senior GS-15 Step 10 employee can earn up to $197,200, subject to the statutory Executive Schedule Level 4 pay cap for the highest grade-step combinations.

Which counties does this pay area cover?

This pay area covers 21 counties and independent cities across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland. Some of the included jurisdictions include Berks County, PA, Bucks County, PA, Chester County, PA, Delaware County, PA, Montgomery County, PA, Philadelphia County, PA, Schuylkill County, PA, Atlantic County, NJ, Burlington County, NJ, Camden County, NJ, Cape May County, NJ, Cumberland County, NJ, and more.

Counties and independent cities in Philadelphia

Berks County, PABucks County, PAChester County, PADelaware County, PAMontgomery County, PAPhiladelphia County, PASchuylkill County, PAAtlantic County, NJBurlington County, NJCamden County, NJCape May County, NJCumberland County, NJGloucester County, NJSalem County, NJKent County, DENew Castle County, DESussex County, DECecil County, MDSomerset County, MDWicomico County, MDWorcester County, MD

Philadelphia pay questions

  • What is the 2026 locality adjustment for Philadelphia?
    For 2026, the locality pay adjustment for Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD is 28.99%. That percentage is added on top of the nationwide base GS table.
  • How much does a GS-12 earn in Philadelphia?
    In 2026, a GS-12 Step 1 employee in Philadelphia earns $98,630, rising to $128,221 at Step 10. See the GS-12 Philadelphia page for the full step breakdown.
  • Who is covered by the Philadelphia locality area?
    This locality table applies to federal employees whose official duty station is located within the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD boundary. It covers 21 counties and independent cities across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland. Telework alone does not change your locality. It is based on the official duty station listed on your SF-50.
  • How does this compare to other pay areas?
    Philadelphia is one of 58 GS locality pay areas nationwide. See the full directory to compare against other cities, or browse the base GS table for the nationwide schedule before locality is added.