GS pay scale 2026, Atlanta: the 23.79% locality table for Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL.
OPM's 2026 General Schedule table for the Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL locality pay area, the counties OPM includes, and the area's locality payment since 2024.
In 2026, GS employees in the Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL locality pay area receive a 23.79% locality payment on top of the base table, so GS pay there runs from $27,957 (GS-1, step 1) to $197,200 (GS-15, step 10), the $197,200 limit OPM applies to locality rates; OPM caps 2 cells in this table. For comparison, GS-12 step 1 is $94,654 here and $89,508 in Rest of U.S. (17.06%). The 23.79% payment is unchanged from 2025.
2026 GS pay in Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL
Annual rates including the 23.79% locality payment.
| Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-1 | $27,957 | $28,894 | $29,823 | $30,749 | $31,677 | $32,220 | $33,140 | $34,066 | $34,104 | $34,968 |
| GS-2 | $31,434 | $32,182 | $33,224 | $34,104 | $34,485 | $35,499 | $36,513 | $37,527 | $38,541 | $39,555 |
| GS-3 | $34,300 | $35,444 | $36,587 | $37,731 | $38,875 | $40,019 | $41,163 | $42,306 | $43,450 | $44,594 |
| GS-4 | $38,502 | $39,786 | $41,070 | $42,354 | $43,637 | $44,921 | $46,205 | $47,488 | $48,772 | $50,056 |
| GS-5 | $43,078 | $44,514 | $45,950 | $47,386 | $48,822 | $50,258 | $51,693 | $53,129 | $54,565 | $56,001 |
| GS-6 | $48,019 | $49,620 | $51,221 | $52,821 | $54,422 | $56,022 | $57,623 | $59,224 | $60,824 | $62,425 |
| GS-7 | $53,361 | $55,140 | $56,919 | $58,698 | $60,476 | $62,255 | $64,034 | $65,813 | $67,592 | $69,371 |
| GS-8 | $59,095 | $61,064 | $63,034 | $65,003 | $66,973 | $68,942 | $70,912 | $72,881 | $74,851 | $76,820 |
| GS-9 | $65,271 | $67,447 | $69,623 | $71,799 | $73,976 | $76,152 | $78,328 | $80,504 | $82,681 | $84,857 |
| GS-10 | $71,877 | $74,273 | $76,668 | $79,063 | $81,459 | $83,854 | $86,249 | $88,645 | $91,040 | $93,435 |
| GS-11 | $78,972 | $81,605 | $84,238 | $86,871 | $89,504 | $92,137 | $94,770 | $97,403 | $100,036 | $102,669 |
| GS-12 | $94,654 | $97,809 | $100,964 | $104,120 | $107,275 | $110,431 | $113,586 | $116,741 | $119,897 | $123,052 |
| GS-13 | $112,556 | $116,308 | $120,060 | $123,812 | $127,564 | $131,316 | $135,069 | $138,821 | $142,573 | $146,325 |
| GS-14 | $133,007 | $137,442 | $141,876 | $146,310 | $150,744 | $155,178 | $159,612 | $164,047 | $168,481 | $172,915 |
| GS-15 | $156,451 | $161,666 | $166,881 | $172,097 | $177,312 | $182,527 | $187,742 | $192,958 | $197,200* | $197,200* |
* Rate limited to the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5304(g)(1)).
Which locations OPM includes in Atlanta
OPM's 2026 definitions place these 64 locations in the Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL area (the same as in 2025):
GA: Banks County, Barrow County, Bartow County, Butts County, Carroll County, Chattahoochee County, Cherokee County, Clarke County, Clayton County, Cobb County, Coweta County, Dawson County, DeKalb County, Douglas County, Elbert County, Fayette County, Floyd County, Forsyth County, Franklin County, Fulton County, Gilmer County, Gordon County, Greene County, Gwinnett County, Habersham County, Hall County, Haralson County, Harris County, Heard County, Henry County, Jackson County, Jasper County, Lamar County, Lumpkin County, Madison County, Marion County, Meriwether County, Morgan County, Muscogee County, Newton County, Oconee County, Oglethorpe County, Paulding County, Pickens County, Pike County, Polk County, Putnam County, Rabun County, Rockdale County, Spalding County, Stephens County, Stewart County, Talbot County, Taliaferro County, Troup County, Upson County, Walton County, White County.
AL: Chambers County, Cherokee County, Cleburne County, Lee County, Randolph County, Russell County.
Atlanta locality pay, 2024 to 2026
| Year | Locality payment | Total increase (OPM) | GS-9 step 1 | GS-12 step 1 | GS-13 step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 23.79% | 1% | $65,271 | $94,654 | $146,325 |
| 2025 | 23.79% | 1.98% | $64,625 | $93,716 | $144,876 |
| 2024 | 23.45% | 5.07% | $63,369 | $91,897 | $142,065 |
Atlanta: $65,271 at step 1.
Open →GS-11GS-11 in every localityAtlanta: $78,972 at step 1.
Open →GS-12GS-12 in every localityAtlanta: $94,654 at step 1.
Open →GS-13GS-13 in every localityAtlanta: $112,556 at step 1.
Open →Full tableGS pay scale 2026Base table and all locality areas.
Open →Free toolSalary to hourly calculatorConvert any annual rate at your own hours.
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Questions people ask
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How this page is built
Every pay figure on this page is copied from the General Schedule salary tables that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes; TryHired does not estimate, average or project any rate. We checked every locality cell for 2024, 2025 and 2026 against OPM's base table times one plus the locality payment, rounded to the nearest dollar: all of them match, except the cells OPM limits to the Executive Schedule level IV rate, which OPM marks with an asterisk. Tables fetched from opm.gov on Nov 3, 2026.
- Your own pay: agencies set your grade and step, and some positions are paid from special rate tables or other pay systems that this page does not cover.
- Future tables: we publish a year's figures only after OPM posts that year's tables.
- Hourly, overtime and premium pay: OPM publishes these separately; this page shows annual rates only.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2026-ATL (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2025-ATL (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2024-ATL (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2026-GS (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2026 Locality Pay Area Definitions.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Within-Grade Increases fact sheet (public domain).