GS-1 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $22,584 – $28,248 • With locality: up to $41,338

54 locality areas • 10 steps • 18 years to top step

GS-1 Qualifications

Education: No specific education

Experience: No experience required

GS-1 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $22,584 $869 $10.82 -
Step 2 $23,341 $898 $11.18 1 year
Step 3 $24,092 $927 $11.54 1 year
Step 4 $24,840 $955 $11.90 2 years
Step 5 $25,589 $984 $12.26 2 years
Step 6 $26,028 $1,001 $12.47 2 years
Step 7 $26,771 $1,030 $12.83 3 years
Step 8 $27,519 $1,058 $13.19 3 years
Step 9 $27,550 $1,060 $13.20 3 years
Step 10 $28,248 $1,086 $13.54 3 years

GS-1 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-1 Step 1 and Step 10 salaries for each of the 54 federal pay areas. Click any locality to see the full 10-step breakdown.

Locality Area Adjustment Step 1 Step 5 Step 10
Alaska +29.78% $29,310 $33,209 $36,660 Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $27,108 $30,714 $33,906 Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $26,685 $30,236 $33,378 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $27,934 $31,651 $34,940 Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $27,471 $31,126 $34,361 Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $26,724 $30,279 $33,426 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $29,511 $33,437 $36,912 Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $27,232 $30,855 $34,061 Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $26,956 $30,543 $33,717 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $26,970 $30,558 $33,734 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $29,391 $33,302 $36,762 Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $27,449 $31,101 $34,333 Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $27,437 $31,088 $34,318 Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $27,040 $30,638 $33,821 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $27,507 $31,167 $34,406 Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $26,636 $30,180 $33,316 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $28,325 $32,094 $35,429 Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $26,665 $30,213 $33,352 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $27,211 $30,832 $34,036 Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $29,140 $33,017 $36,448 Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $26,902 $30,482 $33,649 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $28,731 $32,554 $35,937 Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $26,902 $30,482 $33,649 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $29,088 $32,959 $36,383 Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $27,492 $31,149 $34,386 Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $30,296 $34,328 $37,895 Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $27,674 $31,357 $34,615 Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $27,035 $30,633 $33,816 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $27,024 $30,620 $33,802 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $27,184 $30,801 $34,002 Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $27,078 $30,681 $33,869 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $30,403 $34,448 $38,027 Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $28,216 $31,971 $35,293 Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $27,573 $31,242 $34,488 Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $28,131 $31,874 $35,186 Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $31,329 $35,497 $39,186 Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $26,665 $30,213 $33,352 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $26,773 $30,336 $33,488 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $28,544 $32,342 $35,703 Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $27,385 $31,029 $34,254 Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $27,148 $30,761 $33,957 Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $28,115 $31,856 $35,166 Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $27,591 $31,262 $34,511 Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $26,437 $29,954 $33,067 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $27,329 $30,965 $34,183 Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $28,898 $32,744 $36,146 Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $27,300 $30,932 $34,146 Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $29,501 $33,427 $36,900 Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $33,049 $37,447 $41,338 Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $29,255 $33,148 $36,592 Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $26,974 $30,564 $33,739 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $26,796 $30,361 $33,516 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $27,559 $31,226 $34,471 Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $30,249 $34,274 $37,835 Full Table →

Other GS Pay Grades

GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 GS-5 GS-6 GS-7 GS-8 GS-9 GS-10 GS-11 GS-12 GS-13 GS-14 GS-15

About GS-1 Federal Positions

GS-1 positions are entry-level federal roles typically requiring a high school diploma or equivalent. These positions include clerical, administrative support, and technical assistant roles across federal agencies. Many GS-1 positions serve as starting points for federal careers, with promotion potential to higher grades through the career ladder system.

In 2026, GS-1 base salary ranges from $22,584 (Step 1) to $28,248 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-1 Step 10 can earn up to $41,338 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $26,437 to $33,067.