GS pay scale 2026, Chicago: the 30.86% locality table for Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI.
OPM's 2026 General Schedule table for the Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI locality pay area, the counties OPM includes, and the area's locality payment since 2024.
In 2026, GS employees in the Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI locality pay area receive a 30.86% locality payment on top of the base table, so GS pay there runs from $29,553 (GS-1, step 1) to $197,200 (GS-15, step 10), the $197,200 limit OPM applies to locality rates; OPM caps 4 cells in this table. For comparison, GS-12 step 1 is $100,059 here and $89,508 in Rest of U.S. (17.06%). The 30.86% payment is unchanged from 2025.
2026 GS pay in Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI
Annual rates including the 30.86% 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 | $29,553 | $30,544 | $31,527 | $32,506 | $33,486 | $34,060 | $35,033 | $36,011 | $36,052 | $36,965 |
| GS-2 | $33,229 | $34,020 | $35,122 | $36,052 | $36,455 | $37,527 | $38,598 | $39,670 | $40,742 | $41,814 |
| GS-3 | $36,259 | $37,468 | $38,677 | $39,886 | $41,095 | $42,304 | $43,514 | $44,723 | $45,932 | $47,141 |
| GS-4 | $40,701 | $42,058 | $43,415 | $44,772 | $46,129 | $47,486 | $48,843 | $50,201 | $51,558 | $52,915 |
| GS-5 | $45,538 | $47,056 | $48,574 | $50,092 | $51,610 | $53,128 | $54,646 | $56,164 | $57,682 | $59,200 |
| GS-6 | $50,762 | $52,454 | $54,146 | $55,838 | $57,530 | $59,222 | $60,914 | $62,606 | $64,298 | $65,990 |
| GS-7 | $56,409 | $58,289 | $60,169 | $62,050 | $63,930 | $65,811 | $67,691 | $69,572 | $71,452 | $73,333 |
| GS-8 | $62,470 | $64,552 | $66,634 | $68,716 | $70,798 | $72,880 | $74,962 | $77,044 | $79,126 | $81,208 |
| GS-9 | $68,999 | $71,299 | $73,600 | $75,900 | $78,201 | $80,501 | $82,802 | $85,102 | $87,403 | $89,703 |
| GS-10 | $75,983 | $78,515 | $81,047 | $83,579 | $86,111 | $88,643 | $91,175 | $93,708 | $96,240 | $98,772 |
| GS-11 | $83,482 | $86,266 | $89,049 | $91,832 | $94,616 | $97,399 | $100,182 | $102,966 | $105,749 | $108,533 |
| GS-12 | $100,059 | $103,395 | $106,731 | $110,066 | $113,402 | $116,738 | $120,073 | $123,409 | $126,744 | $130,080 |
| GS-13 | $118,984 | $122,951 | $126,917 | $130,884 | $134,850 | $138,816 | $142,783 | $146,749 | $150,715 | $154,682 |
| GS-14 | $140,604 | $145,291 | $149,979 | $154,666 | $159,353 | $164,041 | $168,728 | $173,416 | $178,103 | $182,790 |
| GS-15 | $165,386 | $170,899 | $176,412 | $181,925 | $187,439 | $192,952 | $197,200* | $197,200* | $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 Chicago
OPM's 2026 definitions place these 25 locations in the Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI area (the same as in 2025):
IL: Boone County, Bureau County, Cook County, DeKalb County, DuPage County, Grundy County, Iroquois County, Kane County, Kankakee County, Kendall County, Lake County, LaSalle County, McHenry County, Ogle County, Putnam County, Stephenson County, Will County, Winnebago County.
IN: Jasper County, Lake County, LaPorte County, Newton County, Porter County, Starke County.
WI: Kenosha County.
Chicago locality pay, 2024 to 2026
| Year | Locality payment | Total increase (OPM) | GS-9 step 1 | GS-12 step 1 | GS-13 step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 30.86% | 1% | $68,999 | $100,059 | $154,682 |
| 2025 | 30.86% | 2.05% | $68,315 | $99,069 | $153,151 |
| 2024 | 30.41% | 5.20% | $66,942 | $97,079 | $150,075 |
Chicago: $68,999 at step 1.
Open →GS-11GS-11 in every localityChicago: $83,482 at step 1.
Open →GS-12GS-12 in every localityChicago: $100,059 at step 1.
Open →GS-13GS-13 in every localityChicago: $118,984 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-CHI (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2025-CHI (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2024-CHI (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).