GS Pay Scale 2026
Federal Government General Schedule salary table — all grades and steps
How Federal Pay Works
The General Schedule (GS) is the pay scale for the majority of federal employees. It has 15 grades (GS-1 through GS-15), each with 10 steps that represent periodic pay increases within a grade. Your actual pay is the base pay below plus a locality adjustment based on where you work — federal employees in San Francisco earn significantly more than those in rural areas for the same grade.
Most professional positions start at GS-5 to GS-7 for entry-level, GS-9 to GS-12 for mid-career, and GS-13 to GS-15 for senior roles. Senior Executive Service (SES) positions are above the GS scale.
Base Pay Table
Annual base pay before locality adjustment. Scroll horizontally to see all steps.
| Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-1 | $22,954 | $23,720 | $24,481 | $25,239 | $25,997 | $26,487 | $27,239 | $27,998 | $28,024 | $28,740 |
| GS-2 | $25,809 | $26,427 | $27,275 | $28,024 | $28,367 | $29,197 | $30,027 | $30,857 | $31,687 | $32,517 |
| GS-3 | $28,163 | $29,101 | $30,039 | $30,977 | $31,915 | $32,853 | $33,791 | $34,729 | $35,667 | $36,605 |
| GS-4 | $31,613 | $32,667 | $33,721 | $34,775 | $35,829 | $36,883 | $37,937 | $38,991 | $40,045 | $41,099 |
| GS-5 | $35,373 | $36,552 | $37,731 | $38,910 | $40,089 | $41,268 | $42,447 | $43,626 | $44,805 | $45,984 |
| GS-6 | $39,431 | $40,745 | $42,059 | $43,373 | $44,687 | $46,001 | $47,315 | $48,629 | $49,943 | $51,257 |
| GS-7 | $43,781 | $45,240 | $46,699 | $48,158 | $49,617 | $51,076 | $52,535 | $53,994 | $55,453 | $56,912 |
| GS-8 | $48,446 | $50,061 | $51,676 | $53,291 | $54,906 | $56,521 | $58,136 | $59,751 | $61,366 | $62,981 |
| GS-9 | $53,433 | $55,214 | $56,995 | $58,776 | $60,557 | $62,338 | $64,119 | $65,900 | $67,681 | $69,462 |
| GS-10 | $58,849 | $60,810 | $62,771 | $64,732 | $66,693 | $68,654 | $70,615 | $72,576 | $74,537 | $76,498 |
| GS-11 | $64,650 | $66,805 | $68,960 | $71,115 | $73,270 | $75,425 | $77,580 | $79,735 | $81,890 | $84,045 |
| GS-12 | $77,490 | $80,073 | $82,656 | $85,239 | $87,822 | $90,405 | $92,988 | $95,571 | $98,154 | $100,737 |
| GS-13 | $92,143 | $95,215 | $98,287 | $101,359 | $104,431 | $107,503 | $110,575 | $113,647 | $116,719 | $119,791 |
| GS-14 | $108,885 | $112,514 | $116,143 | $119,772 | $123,401 | $127,030 | $130,659 | $134,288 | $137,917 | $141,546 |
| GS-15 | $128,078 | $132,347 | $136,616 | $140,885 | $145,154 | $149,423 | $153,692 | $157,961 | $162,230 | $166,499 |
Locality Adjustments
Your actual salary = Base Pay × (1 + Locality %). Here are the most popular locality areas: