2026 GS Pay Scale — Charlotte Locality

CHARLOTTE-CONCORD, NC-SC — 19.67% locality adjustment · Ranks 38th of 58 pay areas

2026 Locality-Adjusted Pay Table

+19.67%
Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) · Effective January 2026
All figures are annual salary in USD after 19.67% locality adjustment. Pay cap: $197,200.
Grade Step 1Step 2Step 3 Step 4Step 5Step 6 Step 7Step 8Step 9 Step 10
GS-1$27,026$27,932$28,831$29,726$30,622$31,148$32,037$32,932$32,969$33,804
GS-2$30,388$31,111$32,118$32,969$33,338$34,318$35,298$36,278$37,258$38,238
GS-3$33,158$34,264$35,370$36,475$37,581$38,687$39,793$40,898$42,004$43,110
GS-4$37,221$38,462$39,703$40,944$42,185$43,426$44,667$45,908$47,149$48,390
GS-5$41,644$43,032$44,420$45,808$47,197$48,585$49,973$51,361$52,749$54,138
GS-6$46,421$47,969$49,516$51,063$52,611$54,158$55,705$57,253$58,800$60,347
GS-7$51,585$53,305$55,024$56,744$58,464$60,183$61,903$63,623$65,342$67,062
GS-8$57,128$59,032$60,936$62,840$64,744$66,648$68,552$70,456$72,360$74,264
GS-9$63,098$65,202$67,306$69,410$71,514$73,617$75,721$77,825$79,929$82,033
GS-10$69,485$71,801$74,116$76,432$78,748$81,063$83,379$85,694$88,010$90,326
GS-11$76,343$78,889$81,434$83,980$86,525$89,070$91,616$94,161$96,707$99,252
GS-12$91,503$94,554$97,604$100,654$103,705$106,755$109,806$112,856$115,906$118,957
GS-13$108,810$112,437$116,064$119,692$123,319$126,946$130,573$134,200$137,828$141,455
GS-14$128,581$132,867$137,154$141,440$145,727$150,014$154,300$158,587$162,873$167,160
GS-15$151,244$156,285$161,327$166,369$171,411$176,452$181,494$186,536$191,577$196,619

What is this salary worth in retirement?

Your Charlotte locality salary feeds directly into your FERS High-3 average, which sets your pension for life. Use the GS Pay Calculator to see your exact salary and projected pension by grade, step, and locality.

Calculate salary & pension → Full FERS estimate →

Charlotte Locality Pay — 2026 Overview

The CHARLOTTE-CONCORD, NC-SC pay area carries a 19.67% locality adjustment for 2026, making it #38 out of 58 OPM-defined pay areas. A GS-13 Step 1 employee here earns $108,810 annually, compared to $90,925 in the national base table — a difference of $17,885 per year.

Locality pay is calculated as: Base Pay × (1 + 19.67%). The resulting salary applies to all General Schedule employees assigned to a duty station within the CHARLOTTE-CONCORD, NC-SC geographic area as defined by OPM. Locality adjustments are effective each January alongside the across-the-board base pay increase.

GS locality pay is capped at the Executive Schedule Level IV rate ($197,200 in 2026) regardless of grade, step, or locality percentage. This cap affects higher steps at GS-15 in the most generous pay areas. See the full interactive GS pay scale to compare all 58 locality pay areas side by side.

Pay data sourced from OPM Salary Tables. Effective January 2026. Locality-adjusted figures computed as Base × (1 + locality rate) per OPM methodology. Not financial advice. Always verify with your agency HR and OPM for official figures.