Which OPM locality pay area applies to specific ICE duty stations and how to look up the applicable 2026 LEO table?

1. Identify the duty station locality using OPM’s definitions and Duty Station Locator

The first and decisive step is to map the ICE duty station street address to an OPM locality pay area by using OPM’s 2026 Locality Pay Area Definitions and the Duty Station Locator tools; OPM explicitly lists the locality definitions and the Duty Station Locator as the source of which locations fall into which pay areas ^[1].

2. Use the LEO-specific 2026 tables once the locality is known

For every locality OPM publishes a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) salary table for 2026 (e.g., DCB, BOS, RUS, SO, POR, IND, GX, RCH and others), and those PDFs show the LEO pay computation for grades and steps applicable to covered LEO positions—so after identifying the locality, open the matching 2026 LEO table on opm.gov to read the exact LEO locality rates ^{[5] [6] [2] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}.

3. Watch for special base-rate computation for LEO grades 3–10

OPM notes that locality rates for LEOs at grades GS-3 through GS-10 are computed using special base rates authorized by law, meaning the LEO tables for those grades use a distinct base-rate calculation rather than the standard GS base—those special-base computations appear in the LEO tables and are described in the LEO table notes ^{[7] [2]}.

4. Confirm whether a special-rate table (e.g., 001M or L018) applies and could be higher

Even after finding the locality LEO table, OPM instructs that employees whose pay under the LEO/locality table is lower than an applicable OPM special-rate table are entitled to the higher special rate; for example, special-rate table 001M can apply to certain GS‑1 through GS‑4 employees and OPM’s guidance and the LEO page point out special-rate interplay and DHS coverage under tables like L018 that list ICE roles ^{[3] [12] [4]}.

5. Remember availability pay and other law-enforcement-specific pay elements

Beyond locality and special-rate tables, ICE criminal investigator/agent positions typically qualify for Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP), a statutory add-on that equals 25% of basic pay for covered criminal investigator series—OPM’s LEO guidance and secondary reporting call attention to LEAP as a separate, material component of total pay for LEOs ^[4].

6. Practical lookup workflow—step-by-step distilled from OPM documents

Map the ICE duty station address to an OPM locality using the Locality Pay Area Definitions/Duty Station Locator ^[1], open the 2026 LEO salary table that matches that locality on OPM’s 2026 LEO pages (choose the PDF/html for that locality, e.g., DCB (LEO) or BOS (LEO)) to read the grade/step rates and notes about special base rates ^{[5] [6] [2]}, then check OPM special-rate tables (001M, L018, etc.) referenced on the LEO/general-schedule pages to see whether a special-rate or DHS-specific special-rate yields a higher pay rate, and finally factor in LEAP or other law-enforcement pay add-ons where applicable ^{[12] [3] [4]}.

7. Caveats, alternative views and limits of available materials

OPM’s published tables and definitions are authoritative for locality and LEO pay, but publicly available PDFs and web pages are the sources provided here; where a particular ICE duty station’s mapping to a locality isn’t explicitly listed in the supplied snippets, the precise mapping must be confirmed using OPM’s Duty Station Locator on opm.gov because the available sources emphasize the locator and locality-definition pages rather than listing every ICE station by name ^{[1] [2]}.