Administering Locality Rates
A locality rate is basic pay for other provisions as specified in other statutes or OPM regulations, and payments or benefits equivalent to those listed above under other legal authorities, as determined by the head of the agency or other authorized official responsible for administering such payments or benefits.
Locality Pay Area Definitions
The President's Pay Agent geographically defines locality pay areas after considering recommendations from the Federal Salary Council. The geographic definitions of locality pay areas for calendar year 2025 are listed below and will be the same as in calendar year 2024. These locality pay areas were geographically defined using criteria consistently applied for all locations throughout the ...
How does locality pay actually work, and where did it come from?
How locality pay works A common misconception is that the government sets locality pay by comparing local living costs, but that’s not actually the case. Instead, locality pay is calculated by comparing wages for federal versus non-federal employees in similar occupations, who live in the same geographic region.
Fact Sheets - U.S. Office of Personnel Management
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.
Federal Salary Cap, Pay Scale, & Locality Rates Explained
Discover the federal salary cap, pay scale, and locality rate adjustments for the fiscal year 2024.
Federal Workforce: Current and Potential Alternatives for Locality Pay ...
Federal employees work across the country—and may make different salaries than their local nonfederal counterparts. To help align federal workers' salaries with their local areas, Congress authorized an annual "locality pay adjustment" starting in 1994. In 2023, 60% of federal employees received a locality pay increase.
2024 Locality Pay Tables Part 1 - Federal Jobs
There are 57 General Schedule (GS) locality pay areas in 2024. Locality Pay Areas Definitions list the areas within a locality that receive this adjustment. The majority of locations within a specific locality are counties, a few are identified by state codes. This page covers parts of the states listed below.
2024 Locality Pay: Which Areas Had the Highest (or Lowest ... - FedSmith
Which 2024 locality pay areas received the highest pay raises? Which ones received the lowest? How did the new locality pay areas fare? Here are the answers.
What is Locality Pay, How Does it Work, and What is its ... - FedSmith
A locality pay area is a geographic region designated by the federal government where federal employees receive a locality-based pay adjustment in addition to their base pay.
List of OPM Pay Localities for Federal Employees - General Schedule
The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) defines a list of General Schedule locality pay areas, which are regions of the United States in which the OPM has determined that the cost of living is high enough that Federal employees living and working within these localities should receive an additional cost of living adjustment (COLA) on top of their General Schedule base pay rate ...
How Locality Pay Adjustments Work - FederalPay.org
How Locality Pay Adjustments Work - Federal Pay.org Locality Adjustments Employees paid on the General Schedule (GS) and the Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Schedule receive a percentage increase to their salary to compensate for the different costs of living Across the U.S. and abroad.
How Are 2024 GS Pay Scales with Locality Calculated? — FEDmanager
The President recommends wholesale adjustments to the pay scales, and they are then approved by Congress each year. Federal employees in foreign locations are not subject to this locality adjustment system. How Can I Use the Locality Pay Adjustment Factor Information? Civilian Feds often earn more because of the locality pay adjustment factor.
Understanding Locality Pay - febabenefits.org
Navigating the intricacies of federal employee pay systems can be especially challenging. Federal employees often hear terms such as locality pay, “salary adjustments,” “regional pay differences,” and the General Schedule (GS) Pay System — but what does it all mean? This blog will provide a detailed breakdown of locality pay and its impact on federal government compensation, helping ...
ADMINISTRATION OF LOCALITY PAY INTRODUCTION - DCPAS
INTRODUCTION This document provides guidance on locality-based comparability payments which are authorized under 5 U.S.C. 5304 and apply to most General Schedule (GS) employees. The regulations are at 5 CFR part 531, subpart F. Locality-based comparability pay adjustments, which vary by geographic area nationwide, are designed to reduce the gap between federal and nonfederal pay in each ...
CRS Explains How GS Locality Pay System Works - FEDweek
The locality pay procedures provide that payments are to be made within each locality determined to have a nonfederal/federal pay disparity greater than 5%. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS ...
Seeking Higher Salary of GS Locality Pay? Here is Status of ... - FedSmith
FedSmith has received queries from a number of readers asking about having their geographic area added to the GS locality pay system. In its latest report, the Federal Salary Council (FSC) listed areas that have recently contacted the organization in an attempt to gain access to the higher salaries offered by locality pay.
Locality Pay Area Definitions - U.S. Office of Personnel Management
On October 15, 2020, final regulations to define General Schedule (GS) locality pay areas were published on behalf of the President's Pay Agent in the Federal Register. The final regulations, which are applicable the first day of the first pay period in January 2021, establish a new Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA, locality pay area and include Imperial County, CA, in the Los Angeles-Long ...
Trump likely to propose pay freeze for federal workers in 2026
In OMB’s response to agency budget submissions, the White House budget office told officials to prepare for a freeze on federal civilian pay next year.
Better understand locality pay: how it works and ... - Federal News Network
Download today! The law technically authorizes the full amount necessary to reduce the pay gap between federal and non-federal salaries in 47 broad “locality pay areas” to 5 percent. But previous administrations, and the current one, have not followed the schedule of locality pay adjustments as FEPCA authorizes.