2026 Locality Pay Explained: What the DMV Rate Actually Means for a GS-9

Updated April 21, 2026

TL;DR: The Washington-Baltimore-Arlington locality pay rate is 33.94% OPM in 2026, unchanged from 2025. For a GS-9 Step 1, that pushes gross pay to $70,623 OPM — roughly $8,900 more than the same job would pay in a Rest-of-US locality. That premium looks big on paper, but DMV rent, taxes, and commute costs absorb most of it before it reaches your checking account.

A GS-9 Step 1 job posting in Washington lists a salary about $8,900 higher than the exact same job posted in a non-locality area like rural Virginia or the Florida Panhandle. Most federal employees assume that gap is a bonus for choosing DC. It is not a bonus. It is a calibration — an attempt by OPM to keep federal pay competitive with private-sector wages in an expensive metro. How much of it you actually keep depends on where you sign a lease.

The 2026 DMV locality number in one table

The Washington-Baltimore-Arlington locality area (OPM calls it DCB) covers DC, most of suburban Maryland, Northern Virginia, a slice of West Virginia, and a sliver of Pennsylvania. Here is what the locality multiplier actually does to a GS-9 at each step, compared to the Rest-of-US rate that applies to most of the country.

Sources: OPM Salary Table 2026-DCB OPM and OPM Salary Table 2026-RUS OPM. The locality adjustment for Rest of US is 17.06% FedTools in 2026.

How is DMV locality pay actually calculated?

Locality pay is a percentage added on top of the national GS base table. Base pay is the same everywhere. What changes is the multiplier.

The formula is simple: Base Pay × (1 + Locality %). A GS-9 Step 1 has a base pay of $52,727 nationally. In the DMV, that base gets multiplied by 1.3394. In a Rest-of-US area, it gets multiplied by 1.1706. The difference flows through to every step and every grade.

Locality rates in 2026 range from 17.06% (Rest of US) to 46.34% (San Jose-San Francisco). FedTools The DMV sits in the middle-high range. It is not the country's most expensive locality, but it is the largest by employee count.

What does the locality bump actually cover in the DMV?

Short answer: rent, mostly.

A GS-9 Step 1 in the DMV grosses $8,901 more than the same job in Florida's Panhandle or rural Ohio. Break that down monthly and the premium is about $742 before taxes. After federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, FERS, and either Maryland, Virginia, or DC income tax, the take-home premium is closer to $450 to $500 per month.

That $500 does not cover the DMV rent gap. A one-bedroom in Arlington, Alexandria, or close-in DC runs $2,200 to $2,800. A one-bedroom in a Rest-of-US metro like Huntsville, Alabama or Omaha, Nebraska runs $1,100 to $1,400. The rent delta is $1,000 to $1,400 monthly — roughly double what the locality premium adds to take-home.

This is the math that catches new federal employees off guard. Locality pay is not designed to make you whole on DMV cost of living. It is designed to keep federal salaries within shouting distance of private-sector wages in the same metro. The two are not the same thing.

Which DMV neighborhoods let a GS-9 actually keep locality pay?

This is where the locality rate starts to matter less than the ZIP code you choose.

The DMV has three cost tiers for federal workers. Tier one is the close-in ring — Arlington, Alexandria, NW DC, Bethesda, Silver Spring inside the Beltway. Rent here consumes 40 to 50 percent of a GS-9's gross pay. Tier two is the middle ring — Waldorf, Upper Marlboro, Fairfax, Woodbridge, Gaithersburg. Rent here runs $1,800 to $2,200 for a one-bedroom. Tier three is the outer ring — Fredericksburg, Winchester, La Plata, Hagerstown. Rent here runs $1,300 to $1,700, but the commute is 60 to 90 minutes each way.

For a GS-9 Step 1 earning $70,623, tier two is where the locality math starts to work. Rent at $1,900 plus utilities at $200 plus commuter rail or toll costs at $300 leaves room for retirement contributions and savings without constant paycheck stress.

The homepage hook on HomeScoop — 42% of GS-9 salary goes to rent in DC Federal Pension Advisors — is accurate for tier-one neighborhoods. Move 15 miles out and that number drops below 35%.

How does the 2026 locality pay freeze affect federal workers?

Locality percentages did not increase in 2026. The 2026 federal pay raise is 1% across-the-board for base pay, with locality pay rates frozen at 2025 levels. FedTools

That matters because federal workers are used to seeing both numbers move each year. In most recent years, base pay went up a percentage point or two and locality rates also ticked up. In 2026, only the base moved. The result is a smaller total increase than federal employees saw in 2024 or 2025.

For a GS-9 Step 1, the 1% base increase translates to about $525 annually at the DCB locality rate. That is less than a tank of gas a month before taxes.

What is the DMV commute math over a three-year assignment?

The commute is the hidden tax on federal pay in the National Capital Region. A 45-minute one-way commute from Waldorf, MD to the Pentagon costs about $9 in gas and tolls each way, or $18 per day, or roughly $4,500 over a year of in-office work. Over three years, that is $13,500 — more than 1.5 years of the locality-pay premium.

The Virginia Express Lanes and the Maryland 200 toll road both raised rates in 2026. Peak-hour toll variability means a bad-traffic day from Woodbridge or Laurel can cost $15 one way. OPM does not adjust locality pay for tolls. The worker absorbs it.

This is where return-to-office policy changes compound. Federal workers who moved to tier-three neighborhoods during telework-heavy years are now re-running the math at four or five days a week in the office. For some, the answer is moving closer in and accepting the rent increase. For others, it is staying put and eating the commute.

FAQ

Is DMV locality pay the same across Maryland, Virginia, and DC? Yes. The Washington-Baltimore-Arlington locality area FederalPay.org covers all three jurisdictions with the same 33.94% multiplier. State income tax rates differ — Virginia caps at 5.75%, Maryland layers county piggyback taxes on top of 5.75%, and DC taxes reach 10.75% for high earners. Where you live changes take-home, even though locality pay does not.

Do federal contractors get locality pay? No. Locality pay is a GS-scale adjustment for direct federal employees. Contractors are paid by private companies on private pay scales. A contractor's "locality-equivalent" is whatever the contract priced into the labor category.

Does locality pay count toward retirement? Yes. Locality pay is part of basic pay for retirement calculations under FERS and CSRS FedTools, which means the DMV premium increases your High-3 and your final annuity. This is one of the real long-term benefits of a DMV assignment.

Can I keep DMV locality pay if I telework from another state? Generally no. An individual's rate is based on where the employee works, not where the employee lives. FEDweek If your duty station is officially changed to a non-DMV location, your locality rate changes with it. Approved telework from outside the DMV while maintaining a DMV duty station is an agency-specific policy question.

Why did the 2026 locality percentage not increase? The 2026 federal pay adjustment was a base-only raise Federal Pension Advisors, executed through an alternative pay plan. Locality percentages stayed at 2025 levels. This is less common than the normal pattern of both base and locality moving together, and it means the total 2026 raise was smaller than what federal workers saw in most recent years.

How does locality pay compare to military BAH? They work differently. BAH is a non-taxable housing allowance that varies by rank, duty station, and dependent status. Locality pay is a taxable salary adjustment applied uniformly across a metro. A GS-9 in the DMV and an E-5 with dependents at Andrews both end up with DMV-calibrated pay, but the mechanics, tax treatment, and ZIP-code sensitivity are different.

See where your GS grade and step actually land across DMV neighborhoods on HomeScoop's Find Neighborhoods tool at homescoop.app.

HomeScoop is not affiliated with the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Office of Personnel Management.