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Locality Code: LA

Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA GS Pay Scale 2026

+36.47% LocalityEX-IV Cap: $197,200

The 2026 General Schedule locality adjustment for duty stations in Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA is +36.47%, applied on top of OPM's official 2026 GS base pay table, capped at Executive Schedule Level IV ($197,200). This page covers all 15 GS grades and all 10 within-grade steps for this specific locality pay area.

Last updated: · Source: OPM Salary Table 2026-GS · Executive Order 14368

Los Angeles-Long Beach is a broad Southern California locality area with a +36.47% adjustment in 2026. OPM’s definition encompasses nine counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Kern, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Imperial. It is a premier defense aerospace, naval warfare, space systems, and federal judicial operational territory.

Source: OPM 2026 locality area definition

Calculate Any Grade & Step for Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA

Select your exact GS Grade and Step to open the full interactive calculator pre-loaded for this locality.

+36.47% Applied

Spotlight: GS-5, GS-9, GS-13, GS-15 Across All 10 Steps (Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA)

Click any salary to calculate

Build-time pre-computed adjusted annual salaries for Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (+36.47%). Values capped at EX-IV $197,200. Click any salary to load overtime, biweekly check, and FERS pension estimates in the interactive engine.

⛔ Cell flagged amber when the unadjusted locality-adjusted salary would exceed the $197,200 Executive Schedule Level IV cap.

Quick Reference: Step 1 Across 5 Common Comparison Points

Compare Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (+36.47%) against Rest of U.S., Washington DC, and San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland at GS-5, GS-9, GS-11, GS-12, and GS-13 Step 1.

GS Step 1 annual base pay at Rest of U.S., Washington DC, San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, and Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA, for GS-5, GS-9, GS-11, GS-12, and GS-13.
Grade (Step 1)Base PayLos Angeles-Long Beach, CA (+36.47%)RUS (+17.06%)DC (+33.94%)SF (+46.34%)
GS-5↗$34,799$47,490$40,736$46,610$50,925
GS-9↗$52,727$71,957$61,722$70,623$77,161
GS-11↗$63,795$87,061$74,678$85,447$93,358
GS-12↗$76,463$104,349$89,508$102,415$111,896
GS-13↗$90,925$124,085$106,437$121,785$133,060

Worked Examples (Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA)

Example A — Mid-Level Specialist (GS-9, Step 1) in Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (+36.47%)

Open in Live Engine ↗

Base Salary: $52,727.00. Locality Adjustment: $52,727 × 36.47% = $19,230.00. Total Adjusted Annual Salary: $71,957.00. Applying the federal 2,087 divisor: $71,957.00 ÷ 2,087 = $34.48/hour. Biweekly Gross Check (80h): $34.48 × 80 = $2,758.40. Monthly Equivalent: $5,996.42.

Example B — Senior Specialist (GS-13, Step 5) in Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (+36.47%)

Open in Live Engine ↗

Base Salary: $103,049.00. Locality Adjustment: $103,049 × 36.47% = $37,582.00. Total Adjusted Annual Salary: $140,631.00. Hourly Rate: $140,631.00 ÷ 2,087 = $67.38/hour. Biweekly Gross Check: $67.38 × 80 = $5,390.40. Monthly Equivalent: $11,719.25.

Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Locality Boundaries & Federal Employers

OPM Code: LA
Covered Counties & Geographic Scope

Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura in CA.

Major Federal Agencies & Regional Installations
  • United States Space Force (Space Systems Command / Los Angeles AFB)
  • Department of the Navy (Naval Base Ventura County, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake)
  • Department of the Air Force (Edwards AFB)
  • Department of Veterans Affairs (Greater Los Angeles VAMC)
  • Department of Homeland Security (CBP LAX/Long Beach)
SF-50 Box 39 Verification

Confirm official duty station locality code on SF-50 Box 39; civilian staff across the entire 9-county territory from Edwards AFB to Long Beach receive the uniform 36.47% rate.

Executive Schedule Level IV Cap Impact

Due to the 36.47% adjustment, the EX-IV cap ($197,200) restricts GS-15 Step 7 ($201,063 raw) through Step 10 ($224,222 raw) to $197,200.

Compare to Other Metros

The 6 OPM locality pay areas closest to Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (+36.47%) by percentage.

All 58 OPM Locality Pay Areas

Jump to any of the 58 OPM locality pay areas. Your current selection (Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA) is highlighted.

Alaska+32.36Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA+20.77Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM+18.33Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL+23.79Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX+20.35Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL+18.24Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT+32.58Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY+22.41Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT+19.45Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC+19.67Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI+30.86Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN+21.93Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA+22.23Colorado Springs, CO+20.15Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH+22.15Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX+17.63Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK+27.26Davenport-Moline, IA-IL+18.93Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH+21.42Denver-Aurora, CO+30.52Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA+18.01Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI+29.12Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA+17.65Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA+19.43Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA+32.08Hawaii+22.21Houston-The Woodlands, TX+35.00Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN+21.91Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN+18.15Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS+18.97Laredo, TX+21.59Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ+19.57Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA+36.47Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL+24.67Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI+22.42Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI+27.62Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA+33.94New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA+37.95Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA+18.23Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL+17.93Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD+28.99Phoenix-Mesa, AZ+22.45Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV+21.03Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA+26.13Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC+22.24Reno-Fernley, NV+17.52Richmond, VA+22.28Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY+17.88Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV+29.76San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX+18.78San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA+33.72San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA+46.34Seattle-Tacoma, WA+31.57Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID+17.67St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL+20.03Tucson-Nogales, AZ+19.28Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC+18.80Rest of U.S.+17.06

Need Custom Overtime, FERS High-3, or LEO Rates for Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA?

Launch our full interactive 2026 Federal Pay Calculator with real-time sliders, Title 5 statutory overtime cap enforcement, and copyable pay breakdown for all 58 localities.

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Q&A Guide

Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA GS Pay FAQs

Common questions about federal GS pay, locality adjustments, and the EX-IV cap for Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA.

How is the Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA locality pay percentage calculated?

The Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (+36.47%) locality pay percentage is derived from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Metropolitan Statistical Area wage surveys. OPM compares federal and non-federal pay in the area and caps the resulting differential at the national Employment Cost Index (ECI) to comply with 5 U.S.C. § 5304.

What is the highest GS grade I can reach in Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA before the EX-IV pay cap binds?

For Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (+36.47%), the EX-IV cap binds starting at GS-15, Step 6. The highest GS grade and step combination that remains uncapped is GS-15, Step 5.

Does the 2026 1.0% raise apply to Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA?

Yes. The 2026 1.0% across-the-board base pay increase authorized by Executive Order 14368 applies uniformly to all 58 OPM locality pay areas, including Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA. Only the locality percentage differs between areas; the base GS pay table is identical.

Will Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA locality pay increase in 2027?

Locality percentages were frozen at 2025 levels for 2026. The 2027 locality percentages for Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA and the other 57 areas will depend on the President's Pay Agent decision following the Federal Salary Council recommendation in late 2026. Check back here after the December 2026 Executive Order for the official 2027 figures.

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