What effect does Locality Pay have on federal employees holding the exact same grade and step?

Answer

It causes their annual earnings to be wildly different based on geography.

Because base GS rates are adjusted based on the local cost of living via Locality Pay, two employees with identical grade and step can have substantially different annual earnings depending on where they are geographically assigned.

What effect does Locality Pay have on federal employees holding the exact same grade and step?
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