U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

Locality Pay Areas

Under 5 U.S.C. 5304(e)(2)(A), the Federal Salary Council made a recommendation to the Pay Agent on the composition of locality pay areas for 2010. This recommendation was transmitted to the Pay Agent in a memorandum dated October 14, 2008. (See Appendix I.)

Evaluating Additional Areas

The Council reviewed pay gaps for Austin, Louisville, and Memphis again this year. These data are from surveys BLS originally conducted as part of its data collection for the RUS locality pay area. BLS informs us that it has completed its sample redesign in these areas.

Table 2.
Pay Gaps in Three Areas

MSA means Metropolitan Statistical Area and CSA means Combined Statistical Area as defined by the Office of Management and Budget.

The Council concluded that Austin, Memphis, and Louisville should remain in the RUS locality pay area but voted to monitor these areas once more next year. Since the pay gaps in these three locations have been below that for the RUS area or just above it consistently since we began evaluating them in 2004, we agree with the Council's recommendations.

Defining Locality Pay Areas

The Federal Salary Council reviewed requests from Federal employees in 42 areas for changes in locality pay area boundaries or new locality pay areas. The Council also heard testimony from employees from several of these areas at its public meetings held on September 5 and 30, 2008. After reviewing the matter, the Council recommended we not make any of the requested changes for 2010, and we agree. The Council also instructed its Working Group to begin a review of how locality pay areas are defined and whether there should be additional separate locality pay areas. The Pay Agent anticipates that the Council's recommendations in 2009 will be informed by this review. The Council's 2008 recommendations are in Appendix I.

Locality Pay Areas for 2009

The Pay Agent intends to provide for the same locality pay areas in 2010 as in 2008:

1. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL—consisting of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL CSA;
2. Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH-RI-ME—consisting of the Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-RI-NH CSA, plus Barnstable County, MA, and Berwick, Eliot, Kittery, South Berwick, and York towns in York County, ME;
3. Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY—consisting of the Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY CSA;
4. Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI—consisting of the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI CSA;
5. Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN—consisting of the Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN CSA;
6. Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH—consisting of the Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH CSA;
7. Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH—consisting of the Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH CSA;
8. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX—consisting of the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX CSA;
9. Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH—consisting of the Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH CSA;
10. Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO—consisting of the Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO CSA, plus the Ft. Collins-Loveland, CO MSA;
11. Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI—consisting of the Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI CSA, plus Lenawee County, MI;
12. Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT-MA—consisting of the Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT CSA, plus the Springfield, MA MSA and New London County, CT;
13. Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX—consisting of the Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX CSA;
14. Huntsville-Decatur, AL—consisting of the Huntsville-Decatur, AL CSA;
15. Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN—consisting of the Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN CSA, plus Grant County, IN;
16. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA—consisting of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA CSA, plus the Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA MSA and all of Edwards Air Force Base, CA;
17. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL—consisting of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA, plus Monroe County, FL;
18. Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI—consisting of the Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI CSA;
19. Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI—consisting of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI CSA;
20. New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA—consisting of the New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA, plus Monroe County, PA, and Warren County, NJ;
21. Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD—consisting of the Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA, plus Kent County, DE, Atlantic County, NJ, and Cape May County, NJ;
22. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ—consisting of the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ MSA;
23. Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA—consisting of the Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA CSA;
24. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA—consisting of the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA MSA, plus Marion County, OR, and Polk County, OR;
25. Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC—consisting of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC CSA, plus the Fayetteville, NC MSA, the Goldsboro, NC MSA, and the Federal Correctional Complex Butner, NC;
26. Richmond, VA—consisting of the Richmond, VA MSA;
27. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, CA-NV—consisting of the Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, CA-NV CSA, plus Carson City, NV;
28. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA—consisting of the San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA;
29. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA—consisting of the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA, plus the Salinas, CA MSA and San Joaquin County, CA;
30. Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA—consisting of the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA CSA, plus Whatcom County, WA;
31. Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA—consisting of the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV CSA, plus the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV MSA, the York-Hanover-Gettysburg, PA CSA, and King George County, VA; and
32. Rest of U.S.—consisting of those portions of the continental United States not located within another locality pay area.

Component counties of MSAs and CSAs are identified in OMB Bulletins available on the Internet at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/index.html