Law Enforcement (LEO) Payscale in Washington 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.
Washington 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 SEATTLE-TACOMA, WA General Schedule locality region applies to government employees who work in Seattle and surrounding areas. General Schedule employees who work within this region are paid 31.57% 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 | $43,750 | $44,965 | $46,181 | $47,397 | $48,612 | $49,828 | $51,044 | $52,260 | $53,475 | $54,691 |
| LEO-4 | $49,109 | $50,473 | $51,837 | $53,202 | $54,566 | $55,930 | $57,295 | $58,659 | $60,024 | $61,388 |
| LEO-5 | $56,469 | $57,995 | $59,521 | $61,047 | $62,573 | $64,100 | $65,626 | $67,152 | $68,678 | $70,204 |
| LEO-6 | $59,543 | $61,245 | $62,946 | $64,647 | $66,348 | $68,049 | $69,751 | $71,452 | $73,153 | $74,854 |
| LEO-7 | $64,277 | $66,168 | $68,059 | $69,949 | $71,840 | $73,731 | $75,621 | $77,512 | $79,402 | $81,293 |
| LEO-8 | $66,995 | $69,089 | $71,182 | $73,275 | $75,369 | $77,462 | $79,555 | $81,648 | $83,742 | $85,835 |
| LEO-9 | $71,686 | $73,999 | $76,312 | $78,625 | $80,938 | $83,251 | $85,564 | $87,877 | $90,190 | $92,503 |
| LEO-10 | $78,941 | $81,487 | $84,032 | $86,578 | $89,124 | $91,670 | $94,216 | $96,762 | $99,308 | $101,854 |
The Seattle locality pay rates also apply to federal workers in the following major cities: Bellevue, Bremerton, Everett, Kent, Oak Harbor, Seattle, Tacoma, and other areas within the region.
The PORTLAND-VANCOUVER-SALEM, OR-WA General Schedule locality region applies to government employees who work in Portland and surrounding areas. General Schedule employees who work within this region are paid 26.13% 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 | $41,941 | $43,106 | $44,272 | $45,437 | $46,603 | $47,768 | $48,933 | $50,099 | $51,264 | $52,430 |
| LEO-4 | $47,078 | $48,386 | $49,694 | $51,002 | $52,310 | $53,618 | $54,926 | $56,234 | $57,542 | $58,850 |
| LEO-5 | $54,134 | $55,597 | $57,060 | $58,523 | $59,986 | $61,449 | $62,912 | $64,375 | $65,839 | $67,302 |
| LEO-6 | $57,081 | $58,712 | $60,343 | $61,974 | $63,605 | $65,236 | $66,867 | $68,497 | $70,128 | $71,759 |
| LEO-7 | $61,620 | $63,432 | $65,245 | $67,057 | $68,870 | $70,682 | $72,494 | $74,307 | $76,119 | $77,932 |
| LEO-8 | $64,225 | $66,232 | $68,239 | $70,246 | $72,252 | $74,259 | $76,266 | $78,272 | $80,279 | $82,286 |
| LEO-9 | $68,722 | $70,939 | $73,157 | $75,374 | $77,591 | $79,809 | $82,026 | $84,243 | $86,461 | $88,678 |
| LEO-10 | $75,677 | $78,117 | $80,558 | $82,999 | $85,439 | $87,880 | $90,320 | $92,761 | $95,202 | $97,642 |
The Portland locality pay rates also apply to federal workers in the following major cities: Vancouver, and other areas within the region.
The SPOKANE-SPOKANE VALLEY-COEUR D'ALENE, WA-ID General Schedule locality region applies to government employees who work in Spokane and surrounding areas. General Schedule employees who work within this region are paid 17.67% 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 | $39,128 | $40,215 | $41,302 | $42,389 | $43,477 | $44,564 | $45,651 | $46,739 | $47,826 | $48,913 |
| LEO-4 | $43,920 | $45,141 | $46,361 | $47,581 | $48,801 | $50,022 | $51,242 | $52,462 | $53,682 | $54,902 |
| LEO-5 | $50,503 | $51,868 | $53,233 | $54,598 | $55,963 | $57,328 | $58,693 | $60,058 | $61,423 | $62,788 |
| LEO-6 | $53,253 | $54,774 | $56,296 | $57,817 | $59,339 | $60,860 | $62,382 | $63,903 | $65,425 | $66,946 |
| LEO-7 | $57,487 | $59,177 | $60,868 | $62,559 | $64,250 | $65,941 | $67,632 | $69,323 | $71,014 | $72,705 |
| LEO-8 | $59,918 | $61,790 | $63,662 | $65,534 | $67,406 | $69,278 | $71,150 | $73,022 | $74,895 | $76,767 |
| LEO-9 | $64,112 | $66,181 | $68,250 | $70,318 | $72,387 | $74,456 | $76,524 | $78,593 | $80,662 | $82,730 |
| LEO-10 | $70,601 | $72,878 | $75,155 | $77,432 | $79,708 | $81,985 | $84,262 | $86,539 | $88,816 | $91,093 |
The Spokane locality pay rates also apply to federal workers in the following major cities: Spokane, and other areas within the region.
Any federal employees in Washington 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: Yakima, 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)).
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