FederalPay.org
FederalPay.org
Law Enforcement (LEO) Payscale in Colorado for 2026
The Law Enforcement (LEO) payscale is the federal government payscale used to determine the salaries of over 70% of federal civilian employees.
Like the General Schedule (GS) Payscale, under the LEO payscale an employee's base pay depends on two factors - the LEO Paygrade of their job, and the Paygrade Step they have achieved (depending on seniority or performance). This base pay is then modified based on a "Locality Pay Adjustment", which adjusts the LEO payscale based on cost-of-living in different areas within the United States.
Colorado has one or more Locality Pay Adjustment areas with special locality pay adjustment rates. This page lists the locality-adjusted yearly LEO pay scales for each area, with starting pay for a LEO-1 broken down by county in the interactive map.
The DENVER-AURORA, CO General Schedule locality region applies to government employees who work in Denver and surrounding areas. General Schedule employees who work within this region are paid 30.52% more than the GS base pay rates to account for local cost of living.
| LEO Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEO-3 | $43,401 | $44,607 | $45,813 | $47,019 | $48,225 | $49,431 | $50,637 | $51,843 | $53,049 | $54,255 |
| LEO-4 | $48,717 | $50,070 | $51,424 | $52,777 | $54,131 | $55,484 | $56,838 | $58,191 | $59,545 | $60,898 |
| LEO-5 | $56,018 | $57,532 | $59,046 | $60,560 | $62,074 | $63,588 | $65,102 | $66,616 | $68,130 | $69,644 |
| LEO-6 | $59,068 | $60,756 | $62,443 | $64,131 | $65,819 | $67,506 | $69,194 | $70,881 | $72,569 | $74,257 |
| LEO-7 | $63,764 | $65,640 | $67,515 | $69,391 | $71,267 | $73,142 | $75,018 | $76,893 | $78,769 | $80,644 |
| LEO-8 | $66,461 | $68,537 | $70,614 | $72,691 | $74,767 | $76,844 | $78,920 | $80,997 | $83,073 | $85,150 |
| LEO-9 | $71,114 | $73,408 | $75,703 | $77,997 | $80,292 | $82,587 | $84,881 | $87,176 | $89,470 | $91,765 |
| LEO-10 | $78,311 | $80,836 | $83,362 | $85,887 | $88,413 | $90,939 | $93,464 | $95,990 | $98,515 | $101,041 |
The Denver locality pay rates also apply to federal workers in the following major cities: Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Centennial, Denver, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Thornton, Westminster, and other areas within the region.
The COLORADO SPRINGS, CO General Schedule locality region applies to government employees who work in Colorado Springs and surrounding areas. General Schedule employees who work within this region are paid 20.15% more than the GS base pay rates to account for local cost of living.
| LEO Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEO-3 | $39,952 | $41,062 | $42,173 | $43,283 | $44,393 | $45,503 | $46,613 | $47,724 | $48,834 | $49,944 |
| LEO-4 | $44,846 | $46,092 | $47,338 | $48,584 | $49,830 | $51,076 | $52,322 | $53,568 | $54,814 | $56,060 |
| LEO-5 | $51,567 | $52,961 | $54,355 | $55,748 | $57,142 | $58,536 | $59,930 | $61,323 | $62,717 | $64,111 |
| LEO-6 | $54,375 | $55,929 | $57,482 | $59,036 | $60,589 | $62,143 | $63,696 | $65,250 | $66,803 | $68,357 |
| LEO-7 | $58,698 | $60,425 | $62,151 | $63,878 | $65,604 | $67,331 | $69,057 | $70,784 | $72,511 | $74,237 |
| LEO-8 | $61,180 | $63,092 | $65,004 | $66,915 | $68,827 | $70,738 | $72,650 | $74,561 | $76,473 | $78,385 |
| LEO-9 | $65,464 | $67,576 | $69,688 | $71,800 | $73,913 | $76,025 | $78,137 | $80,249 | $82,362 | $84,474 |
| LEO-10 | $72,089 | $74,414 | $76,739 | $79,064 | $81,388 | $83,713 | $86,038 | $88,363 | $90,688 | $93,013 |
The Colorado Springs locality pay rates also apply to federal workers in the following major cities: Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and other areas within the region.
Any federal employees in Colorado who do not live in an area for which a specific Locality Pay Adjustment has been set will receive the generic "Rest of the United States" locality pay adjustment of 17.06% (shown in the table below).
| LEO Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEO-3 | $38,925 | $40,006 | $41,088 | $42,170 | $43,251 | $44,333 | $45,415 | $46,496 | $47,578 | $48,660 |
| LEO-4 | $43,693 | $44,907 | $46,120 | $47,334 | $48,548 | $49,762 | $50,976 | $52,190 | $53,404 | $54,618 |
| LEO-5 | $50,241 | $51,599 | $52,957 | $54,315 | $55,673 | $57,030 | $58,388 | $59,746 | $61,104 | $62,462 |
| LEO-6 | $52,977 | $54,490 | $56,004 | $57,517 | $59,031 | $60,545 | $62,058 | $63,572 | $65,085 | $66,599 |
| LEO-7 | $57,188 | $58,871 | $60,553 | $62,235 | $63,917 | $65,599 | $67,281 | $68,964 | $70,646 | $72,328 |
| LEO-8 | $59,607 | $61,469 | $63,332 | $65,194 | $67,057 | $68,919 | $70,781 | $72,644 | $74,506 | $76,369 |
| LEO-9 | $63,780 | $65,838 | $67,896 | $69,954 | $72,012 | $74,070 | $76,128 | $78,186 | $80,243 | $82,301 |
| LEO-10 | $70,235 | $72,500 | $74,765 | $77,030 | $79,295 | $81,560 | $83,825 | $86,091 | $88,356 | $90,621 |
The Rest of U.S. locality pay rates also apply to federal workers in the following major cities: and other areas within the region.
* For some high-paygrade workers, pay under the GS scale may be capped at $197,200 the SES (Senior Executive Scale)'s Level 4 pay for the current year (5 U.S.C. 5304 (g)(1)).
Join the our free mailing list to receive an update when 2027 rates are available.