Federal employees working in Fresno, Calif., Reno, Nev., Rochester, New York, and Spokane, Wash. are slated to get a locality pay raise next year as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) took one of the final steps to implement the new General Schedule (GS) pay localities.
New counties will also be added to 43 existing localities, so those working and living in these counties will get a locality pay bump as well.
The changes mean about 32,900 federal workers will see a locality pay raise starting Jan. 1, 2024. The proposed rule for these changes was published in the Federal Register on June 28, 2023. There will be a 30-day comment period followed by publication of the final rule.
This is a direct result of AFGE pushing the Biden administration to adopt the Federal Salary Council’s pro-labor recommendations that would increase pay for tens of thousands of General Schedule (GS) employees who are making 24.09% less than employees outside the federal government doing similar jobs in the same areas.
The President’s Pay Agent approved the Federal Salary Council’s recommendations in December. The Federal Salary Council comprises three presidential appointees and representatives from five federal employee unions, including AFGE.
“The expansion of existing localities, the establishment of new localities, and retention in existing localities are all huge victories that will result in higher pay for about 32,000 federal employees. That is, about 32,000 GS employees will move from Rest of US to higher-paying localities as a result of this rule, with more to come,” said AFGE Public Policy Director Jacque Simon, who is one of AFGE’s representatives on the Federal Salary Council. “This has been a long time coming, and the finish line is now in sight.”
New counties added to existing 43 locality pay areas adjusted for varying cost-of-living across the country:
Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA
Greene County, NY; and Hamilton County, NY.
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM
Mora County, NM.
Atlanta—Athens-Clarke County—Sandy Springs, GA-AL
Cherokee County, AL; Cleburne County, AL; Lee County, AL; Randolph County, AL; Russell County, AL; Banks County, GA; Chattahoochee County, GA; Elbert County, GA; Floyd County, GA; Franklin County, GA; Gilmer County, GA; Greene County, GA; Habersham County, GA; Harris County, GA; Lumpkin County, GA; Marion County, GA; Muscogee County, GA; Putnam County, GA; Rabun County, GA; Stephens County, GA; Stewart County, GA; Talbot County, GA; Taliaferro County, GA; and White County, GA.
Austin-Round Rock, TX
Blanco County, TX; Burnet County, TX; Lee County, TX; and Milam County, TX.
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL
Clay County, AL; Etowah County, AL; Greene County, AL; Hale County, AL; Pickens County, AL; Tuscaloosa County, AL; and Winston County, AL.
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME
Windham County, CT (redesignated from Hartford-West Hartford CT-MA locality pay area); Dukes County, MA; Nantucket County, MA; Carroll County, NH; Cheshire County, NH; Grafton County, NH; Sullivan County, NH; Orange County, VT; and Windsor County, VT.
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
Allegany County, NY; and Wyoming County, NY.
Burlington-South Burlington, VT
Addison County, VT; Lamoille County, VT; and Washington County, VT.
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC
Alexander County, NC; Anson County, NC; Burke County, NC; Caldwell County, NC; Catawba County, NC; and Chesterfield County, SC.
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI
Boone County, IL; Iroquois County, IL; Ogle County, IL; Stephenson County, IL; Winnebago County, IL; and Starke County, IN.
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN
Ripley County, IN; Switzerland County, IN; Carroll County, KY; Fleming County, KY; Lewis County, KY; Owen County, KY; Robertson County, KY; Adams County, OH; and Highland County, OH.
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH
Ashland County, OH; Columbiana County, OH; Crawford County, OH; Holmes County, OH; Mahoning County, OH; Richland County, OH; Trumbull County, OH; Wayne County, OH; and Mercer County, PA.
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH
Coshocton County, OH; Hardin County, OH; Morgan County, OH; Noble County, OH; Pike County, OH; and Vinton County, OH.
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX
Duval County, TX; Live Oak County, TX; and Refugio County, TX.
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK
Carter County, OK; Love County, OK; Hill County, TX; Jack County, TX; Montague County, TX; Rains County, TX; and Van Zandt County, TX.
Davenport-Moline, IA-IL
Lee County, IL; Whiteside County, IL; Cedar County, IA; Jackson County, IA; and Louisa County, IA.
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH
Allen County, OH; Auglaize County, OH; Mercer County, OH; and Van Wert County, OH.
Denver-Aurora, CO
Lincoln County, CO.
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA
Adair County, IA; Clarke County, IA; Greene County, IA; Hamilton County, IA; Lucas County, IA; Mahaska County, IA; Marion County, IA; Monroe County, IA; and Poweshiek County, IA.
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI
Clinton County, MI; Eaton County, MI; Huron County, MI; Ingham County, MI; Jackson County, MI; Sanilac County, MI; Shiawassee County, MI; and Tuscola County, MI.
Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA
Juniata County, PA.
Houston-The Woodlands, TX
Colorado County, TX; Grimes County, TX; Jackson County, TX; and Madison County, TX.
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL
Colbert County, AL; Lauderdale County, AL; and Lincoln County, TN.
Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN
Benton County, IN; Blackford County, IN; Carroll County, IN; Clinton County, IN; Fayette County, IN; Fountain County, IN; Lawrence County, IN; Monroe County, IN; Owen County, IN; Randolph County, IN; Rush County, IN; Tippecanoe County, IN; Tipton County, IN; Warren County, IN; and Wayne County, IN.
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS
Anderson County, KS; Carroll County, MO; Daviess County, MO; Gentry County, MO; Henry County, MO; and Holt County, MO.
Laredo, TX
Jim Hogg County, TX; and La Salle County, TX.
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI
Fond du Lac County, WI; and Sheboygan County, WI.
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI
Blue Earth County, MN; Brown County, MN; Dodge County, MN; Fillmore County, MN; Kanabec County, MN; Meeker County, MN; Morrison County, MN; Mower County, MN; Nicollet County, MN; Olmsted County, MN; Pine County, MN; Steele County, MN; Wabasha County, MN; Waseca County, MN; and Polk County, WI.
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA
Sullivan County, NY; and Wayne County, PA.
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA
Fremont County, IA; Shelby County, IA; and Burt County, NE.
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Sussex County, DE; Somerset County, MD; Wicomico County, MD; Worcester County, MD; and Schuylkill County, PA.
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Gila County, AZ.
Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV
Belmont County, OH; Cambria County, PA; Greene County, PA; Somerset County, PA; Marshall County, WV; and Ohio County, WV.
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA
Wahkiakum County, WA.
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Caswell County, NC; Edgecombe County, NC; Halifax County, NC; Moore County, NC; Nash County, NC; Northampton County, NC; Warren County, NC; and Wilson County, NC.
Richmond, VA
Brunswick County, VA; Essex County, VA; Greensville County, VA; Nottoway County, VA; and Emporia city, VA.
Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV
Alpine County, CA; Amador County, CA; Butte County, CA; Colusa County, CA; and Sierra County, CA.
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX
Gillespie County, TX; Gonzales County, TX; Karnes County, TX; Kerr County, TX; and McMullen County, TX.
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
Calaveras County, CA; Merced County, CA; and Stanislaus County, CA.
Seattle-Tacoma, WA
Grays Harbor County, WA; Pacific County, WA; and San Juan County, WA.
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL
Fayette County, IL; Greene County, IL; Montgomery County, IL; Randolph County, IL; Washington County, IL; Crawford County, MO; Gasconade County, MO; Iron County, MO; Madison County, MO; Montgomery County, MO; Pike County, MO; Ste. Genevieve County, MO; and Washington County, MO.
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC
Chowan County, NC; Hertford County, NC; Middlesex County, VA; Southampton County, VA; Surry County, VA; and Franklin city, VA.
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA
Allegany County, MD; Caroline County, MD; Fulton County, PA; Caroline County, VA (redesignated from Richmond, VA locality pay area); Madison County, VA; Orange County, VA; Shenandoah County, VA; Westmoreland County, VA; Hardy County, WV; and Mineral County, WV.
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